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Planta Med 1999; 65(6): 527-531
DOI: 10.1055/s-1999-14009
Original Paper

Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Biological Properties of Ulvan, a New Source of Green Seaweed Sulfated Polysaccharides, on Cultured Normal and Cancerous Colonic Epithelial Cells

Bertrand Kaeffer1 , Claudine Bénard1 , Marc Lahaye2 , Hervé M. Blottière1 , Christine Cherbut1
  • 1 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Nantes, CRNH de Nantes, Unité Fonctions Digestives et Nutrition Humaine, Nantes, France
  • 2 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Nantes, Unité de Recherche sur les Polysaccharides, leurs organisations et interactions, Nantes, France
Further Information

Publication History

November 7, 1998

March 20, 1999

Publication Date:
31 December 1999 (online)

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Abstract

Ulvans (from Ulva lactuca) constitute a dietary fiber structurally similar to the mammalian glycosaminoglycans but with unexplored biological or cytotoxic activities. From native low-viscosity preparations containing 33.5 molar % and 18.4 molar % of sulfate residues and uronic acid residues, respectively, we derived desulfated, reduced and desulfated-reduced polysaccharides with respectively 5.2, 2.9, and 4.5 - 4.9 molar % of sulfate residues and uronic acid residues. The effects of these preparations were examined on the adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of normal or tumoral colonic epithelial cells cultured in conventional (0.3 - 0.8 × 106 cells/ml) or rotating bioreactor (3 - 8 × 106 cells/ml) culture conditions. In conventional culture conditions, ulvan modified the adhesion phase and the proliferation of normal colonic cells and undifferentiated HT-29 cells according to their molecular weights and to the relative molar proportion of sulfate residues. From the native polysaccharides, we have screened sulfated ulvans (MW < 5,000) which inhibited the Caco-2 cell proliferation/differentiation program by inducing a low cell reactivity to Ulex europeaus-1 lectins in defined (p < 0.001) or serum-supplemented media (p < 0.01) but were inactive on normal colonocytes. In conclusion, this dietary fiber could be a source of oligosaccharides with a bioactivity, a cytotoxicity or a cytostaticity targeted to normal or cancerous epithelial cells.

Key words:

Sulfated oligosaccharide - ulvan - colon - epithelium - Chlorophyceae

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