Fucoxanthin: a marine carotenoid has anticancer activities and apoptosis-inducing effect (a review)

Abstract Fucoxanthin, a natural xanthophyll carotenoid, is generally found in brown seaweeds, such as Sargassum duplicatum, Turbinaria turbinata, Padina australis, Undaria pinnatifida, and Laminaria japonica; microalga or diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Isochrysis galbana Odontella sinensis. Fucoxanthin marine exhibiting several anticancer activities, activities against leukemia, prostate, cervical, hepatoma, colon, lung cancer. Cancer disease frequently considered to be of the cell cycle. Then, apoptosis dominant form death with particular relevance cancer, characterized initially by series stereotypic morphological changes, condensation fragmentation chromatin shrinking cytoplasmic (cell shrinkage), decrease volume alterations plasma membrane, mitochondrial depolarization, membrane blebbing, packaging into apoptotic bodies formation bodies. In general, there are four techniques for detection apoptosis, namely: (1). changes analysis using an inverted microscope, scanning electron fluorescent (2) gel electrophoresis, (3). immunohistochemistry ( e.g ., caspase-3), (4) flow cytometry.