Fucoidan derived from Sargassum pallidum alleviates metabolism disorders associated with improvement of cardiac injury and oxidative stress in diabetic mice

Abstract Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its complications have become a serious global health epidemic. Cardiovascular complications have considered as a major cause of high mortality in diabetic patients. Fucoidans from brown algae have diverse medicinal activities, however, few studies reported pharmacological activity of Sargassum . pallidum fucoidan (Sp‐Fuc). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Sp‐Fuc on diabetic symptoms and cardiac injury in spontaneous diabetic db/db mice. SP‐Fuc at 200 mg/(kg/d) was administered intragastrically to db/db mice for 8 weeks, the effects on hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and cardiac damage, as well as oxidative stress, inflammation, Nrf2/ARE, and NF‐κB signaling pathways, were investigated. Our data demonstrated that Sp‐Fuc significantly ( p < 0.05) decreased body weights, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia in db/db mice, along with improved insulin sensitivity. Additionally, Sp‐Fuc significantly ( p < 0.05) alleviated cardiac dysfunction and pathological morphology of cardiac tissue. Sp‐Fuc also significantly ( p < 0.05) decreased lipid peroxidation, increased antioxidant function, as well as reduced cardiac inflammation, possibly through Nrf2/ARE and NF‐κB signaling. Sp‐Fuc can ameliorate the metabolism disorders of glucose and lipid in diabetic mice by activating Nrf2/ARE antioxidant signaling, simultaneously reducing cardiac redox imbalance and inflammatory damage. The present findings provide a perspective on the therapy strategy for T2DM and its complications.