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The review covers the history of the discovery and nomenclature of fucoidans — an interesting group of fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides extracted from brown algae (Phaeophyceae) with a wide range of promising biological activities. The factors affecting complex molecular structure of these heterogeneous biopolymers are characterized; the authors give an overview of a series of original articles clarifying the role of the bioglycan molecular structure elements (chemical groups, molecular weight, glycosidic linkages, monosaccharides) on some biological properties — anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, etc. Despite a long history of studying fucoidans, unraveling the role of certain fucoidans' structural features is far from being complete because of the molecular complexity caused by both endogeneous and environmental factors, as well as by reproducibility issues of extraction processes. The sources of scientific literature were found in various electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct) and library search.

1% water solution extract Fucus reduced inflammation emerged in cases of chronic parodontal disease. This was confirmed by positive dynamics of subjective and objective clinical symptoms, reduction of parodontal and hygienic indexes, improvement of parodontal microcirculation.

Biopolymers of sea hydrobionts such as mytilan, alpha-1,4;1,6-D-glycan isolated from the muntle of the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus; translam, beta-1,3;1,6-D-glucan isolated from the seaweed Laminaria cichorioides; fucoidan, a sulfated polysccharide isolated from the algae Fucus evanescens; zosterin, a pectin isolated from sea grass of the family Zosteraceae were comparatively studied. The mechanisms of the phagocyte activation were investigated and the dose-dependent ability of the biopolymers to increase in vitro adhesion of the intact cells and to restore the neutrophil functions at cyclophosphamide-induced immunodepression was detected. The neutrophil activation by mytilan, zosterin and fucoidan linked with the adhesion potentiation was shown to be associated with their ability to increase the number of the adhesion receptors and in particular CD116b on the cell surface. The lower potential of the neutrophils preincubated in vitro with high doses of translam beta-glucan could be due to blockade of the beta-glucan receptors participating in the complex multicomponent adhesion process. The use of the biopolymers of the sea hydrobionts of the glycobiological nature for modulation of the immunity processes provided rather convenient in vivo management of intracellular processes through direct and competing carbohydrate specific interactions of the modifiers with the membrane receptors and formation of active and inactive lectin-glycoligand and carbohydrate-carbohydrate complexes.

The search for the compounds inducing release of lipoprotein lipase in the blood flow was made in the series of sulfated polysaccharides of brown sea algae of the Japanese Sea--fucoidanes. The effects of the substances on the blood coagulability were studied. Single intravenous injections of the substances were followed by the combined but independent anticoagulant and lipolysis-stimulating effects. Fucoidane isolated from Pelvetia wrightii possessed the greatest lipolysis-stimulating activity along with a weak anticoagulant effect. The degree of the pharmacological effects of the studied compounds did not depend on the degree of sulfation of macromolecules of the polysaccharides. In contrast to heparin fucoidanes exhibited the maximum effect on lipolysis later, 120-180 minutes after the intravenous injection.

A comparative study of the anticoagulant activity of fucoidan, sulfated polysaccharides of brown sea algae, was carried out during in vitro and in vivo experiments. Among the compounds of this class of nonlinear polyanions of sea algae there were detected the substances possessing a low toxicity and anticoagulant activity comparable with that of heparin. However the mechanism of action of the studied compounds differs from that of heparin.