Laminaria japonica seaweed, does it help with weight loss?

The important commercial seaweed Laminaria japonica was introduced into China in the late 1920s from Hokkaido, Japan.

Evaluation of 8-week body weight control program including sea tangle (Laminaria japonica) supplementation in Korean female college students.
Nutr Res Pract. 2009; Department of Food and Nutrition, Inha University, Nam-gu,, Korea.
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a body weight control program with supplementation of sea tangle (20 g/day) on 22 female college students. The contents of the program for 8 weeks contained diet therapy, exercise and behavioral modification through nutrition education. Body composition, dietary habit scores, serum lipid profiles, daily nutrient intakes and the quality of life were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the program. Average age of subjects and height were 20 years and 161 cm, respectively. After 8 weeks, there were significant reductions in body weight, body fat mass, percent body fat, waist-hip ratio and BMI. The dietary habit score such as a balanced diet, regularity of mealtime, overeating, eating while watching TV or using the computer and eating salty food were increased significantly. Serum lipid levels such as total cholesterol level, LDL-cholesterol level and triglyceride level were decreased but not significantly. There were decreases in intake of energy, protein and fat and increases in intakes of dietary fiber, folic acid, calcium and potassium from the beginning to the end of the program. There were significant improvements on subcomponents of quality of life; physical functioning, general-health and vitality. The limitation of this study was the fact that there was no control group, but an overall evaluation suggests the 8-week body weight control program consisting of diet therapy, exercise and behavioral modification with supplementation of sea tangle would be helpful to improve the body composition, dietary habits, daily nutrient intakes and quality of life in Korean female college students.

Quantification and localization of fucoidan in Laminaria japonica using a novel antibody.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2009; Mizuno M, Nishitani Y, Tanoue T, Matoba Y, Ojima T, Hashimoto T. Mizuno M, Nishitani Y, Tanoue T, Matoba Y, Ojima T, Hashimoto T, Kanazawa K. Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Japan.
The establishment of a simple technique to determine the concentration of fucoidan was developed by using a monoclonal antibody against fucoidan. This antibody reacted with fucoidans purified from Laminaria japonica Areschoug (Makombu in Japanese) and Kjellmaniella gyrate Miyabe (Gagome), but not with polysaccharides from Undaria pinnatifida Suringar (Wakame). Neither laminarin nor algenic acid, which are constituents in Laminaria japonica, were recognized by the prepared antibody. Application of the enzymed-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) inhibition assay increased the specificity of fucoidan in measuring the fucoidan contents. On the basis of these results, it was ascertained that the ELISA inhibition assay of using the anti-fucoidan monoclonal antibody was rapid, accurate, and sensitive in measuring the content of fucoidan. In addition, the localization of fucoidan in Laminaria japonica was investigated. This is the first report of fucoidan being restricted to the outer cortical layer.

Fucoxanthin information, benefit, side effects