(NaturalPath) A recent study release by the American Chemical Society has discovered that seaweed snacks may help to counteract food allergies.
Seaweed snacks have been a staple in Asian countries for years, but have only recently gained popularity in North America. Seaweed contains many polysaccharide compounds that have anti-asthmatic and anti-allergy effects. Due to these properties, researchers were interested in testing whether seaweed snacks provided any anti-histamine benefits.
Polysaccharides were isolated from Gracilaria lamaneiformis, which is a common form of red algae found in commercial products. Animal subjects who were also sensitive to a shellfish protein, referred to as tropomyosin, were divided into two groups. The first group was fed the polysaccharide isolates, while the second group was not. Then, both groups were exposed to the allergen.
Results showed that the animal subjects who were given the red algae polysaccharide isolates, responded with reduced allergy symptoms, when compared to the non-treatment group. Animal subjects that consumed these isolates saw more resilience to allergy symptoms.
This study demonstrates the possible use for seaweed in order to improve or minimize allergy symptoms.
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.
Reference
Qing-Mei Liu, Yang Yang, Soheila J. Maleki, Marcos Alcocer, Sha-Sha Xu, Chao-Lan Shi, Min-Jie Cao, Guang-Ming Liu. Anti-Food Allergic Activity of Sulfated Polysaccharide fromGracilaria lemaneiformisis Dependent on Immunosuppression and Inhibition of p38 MAPK. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b01086