Proportion of murine cytotoxic T cells is increased by high molecular-weight fucoidan extracted from Okinawa mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus)

Male BALB/c mice were administered three fucoidans with different molecular weights prepared from Okinawa mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus). The proportion of CD8(+) cells in the spleens of mice fed with high molecular-weight fucoidan significantly increased compared with those in mice fed a control diet. In addition, the CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio tended to decrease and the proportion of CD11b(+) cells to increase. These results suggest that high molecular-weight fucoidan promotes an increase in the proportion of murine cytotoxic T cells.