Structural Study of Fucoidan from the Brown Seaweed Hizikia fusiformis

We investigated the structure of fucoidan from Hizikia fusiformis. Using DEAE-Sepharose column chromatography, fucoidan was fractionated into four groups. F4, main fraction of fucoidan, contained 38 % (w/w) of ester sulfate and had the simplest sugar component (L-Fuc: D-Gal=7:3). The structure of F4 was discussed using de-sulfation, 2D-NMR and methylation analysis and proposed as [→3)-α-L-Fucp-(1→3)-α-L-Fucp-(1→3)-α-L-Fucp-(1→3)-α-L-Fucp-(1→]nR=α-L-Fucp-(1→4)-α-L-Fucp-(1→ (50%a) or α-D-Galp-(1→4)-α-D-Galp-(1→ (50 %a).58 % in molar ratio of the hydroxyl group is sulfated.