Fucoxanthin supplement review
Does taking a fucoxanthin supplement on a daily basis lead to weight loss?
Does fucoxanthin have side effects?
Is fucoxanthin brown seaweed extract a scam?

Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid found in edible brown seaweeds. There are some companies promoting fucoxanthin as a weight loss supplement. A search on Medline did not reveal human studies with fucoxanthin regarding weight loss. 
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Fucoxanthin side effects
Since fucoxanthin is difficult to find in pure form, people who take a fucoxanthin supplement do so as normally present in brown seaweed or as a 5 percent or 10 percent extract of seaweed. Brown seaweed has a very small amount of natural fucoxanthin, on average about 0.2 to 0.3 mg per 1000 mg. Please keep in mind that one gram of seaweed has several times the amount of iodine that most adults require on a daily basis. In fact, one fucoxanthin supplement product made of one gram of brown seaweed has more than 600 mcg of iodine. The daily requirement of iodine is only 150 mcg. Taking one pill of this fucoxanthin product will give you several times the iodine your body requires. Therefore, a potential fucoxanthin side effect could include changes in thyroid function due to iodine excess. It is difficult to specify what side effects fucoxanthin would have until ingredient suppliers are able to concentrate fucoxanthin from seaweed to a 90 percent plus extract concentration free of excess iodine. Otherwise, the fucoxanthin products currently on the market have an excess amount of iodine which could mask or enhance potential fucoxanthin side effects. When side effects occur from taking a fucoxanthin supplement, it is difficult to tell whether the cause is the iodine, the fucoxanthin, or the combination. However, if the product only less than one mg of fucoxanthin and several times the daily requirement for iodine, it is likely that any side effects that occur after taking such a fucoxanthin supplement is due to iodine excess. We believe it is misleading for a product label to say it is fucoxanthin when there is more iodine or salt in the product than fucoxanthin itself.
   A potential fucoxanthin supplement side effect is rapid heart beat or heart palpitations due to the excess iodine which can initially cause hyperthyroidism.

Fucoxanthin products
Be careful when you buy a product promoted as fucoxanthin since you may be, in some cases, basically paying a lot of money for buying brown seaweed which floats for free in the ocean. Also, you have to consider the high amount of iodine in these products since excess iodine can cause thyroid malfunction. Also, just because a product claims it has a specific mg amount of fucoxanthin does not mean the information is reliable. Some companies may not be honest and their label may not reflect what is actually in the capsules.
   A few fucoxanthin products list that their product has 1000 mg of brown seaweed which contains about 0.2 to 0.4 mg of fucoxanthin. Other companies market products that have 5 mg of fucoxanthin in each 200 mg capsule. Our fucoxanthin review found most of the products to not list the amount of iodine which could create potential problems for many people who have thyroid problems.

Fucoxanthin and weight loss - animal studies
Most of the time, when animal studies are done, the amount of herbs or drugs given to them is much higher per body weight than what is normally ingested by humans. Therefore, one has to be cautious interpreting studies and outcomes in animals.

Dietary Combination of Fucoxanthin and Fish Oil Attenuates the Weight Gain of White Adipose Tissue and Decreases Blood Glucose in Obese / Diabetic Mice.
J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Sep 19;55(19):7701-6.
In this Japanese study, fucoxanthin was given to mice at an amount of 0.2 percent of their diet. The Fucoxanthin decreased blood glucose and plasma insulin concentration and helped the mice lose weight.
   You might think that this study confirms that fucoxanthin supplement use could lead to weight loss. Before you jump to conclusions, please read what respected nutrition and medical expert Dr. Sahelian has to say:

Note by Dr. Sahelian: The amount of fucoxanthin fed to these mice was 0.2 percent of their diet. Let's say a person on average eats 1000 grams of food a day (humans eat more than this but we'll use 1000 grams to make calculations easier). If 0.2 percent of the diet given to the mice was fucoxanthin, this would mean that a person would have to consume 2 grams of fucoxanthin daily to have a similar effect as occurred in the mice. Two grams equals 2000 mg. The highest fucoxanthin containing product on the market we could find during an internet search was 10 mg per capsule. If one were to take even a few fucoxanthin capsules a day, iodine toxicity could likely occur and there is no way one would even come close to ingesting 2000 mg of fucoxanthin a day.

Bottom line
At this time we do not believe there is any evicende that fucoxanthin is effective for weight loss. However, fucoxanthin is a carotenoid and carotenoids have excellent antioxidant activity. The concern with taking a fucoxanthin supplement is that people could be exposed to very high levels of iodine.
   For the time being, Dr. Sahelian has recommended to us that we do not sell a fucoxanthin product until we find one that has a reasonable amount of fucoxanthin with low levels of iodine and salt.

Popular and effective products
We have several popular all natural products formulated by a medical scientist and researcher, Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D. These include Diet Rx which safely and effectively reduces your appetite without stimulants or fucoxanthin so you eat less; MultiVit Rx with folic acid and B vitamins for more energy and vitality; Mind Power Rx for better mood, focus, alertness, and concentraion; Good Night Rx for better sleep; Eyesight Rx for better vision, often within days; Joint Power Rx for healthy joints; Prostate Power Rx for a healthy prostate gland; Passion Rx for sexual enhancement in men and women.

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Fucoxanthin and weight loss review