Antioxidant and antiproliferative potential activity of the marine carotenoid fucoxanthin in the treatment of chronic blood cancer

The growing interest in functional foods has highlighted the potential of marine-derived compounds in preventing chronic non-communicable diseases, including cancer. Fucoxanthin (FUCO), a xanthophyll carotenoid extracted from brown seaweed, has shown promising biological activity. In this study, we investigated the effects of FUCO on the human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) K562 cell line. FUCO treatment significantly increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, while glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels remained unchanged, suggesting that ROS accumulation may occur independently of antioxidant depletion. Furthermore, FUCO inhibited the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase/ Protein Kinase B/ Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR) signaling pathway and induced apoptosis in K562 cell line. These findings support the potential role of fucoxanthin as a functional food compound with antioxidant and antiproliferative properties, and its possible application in the prevention and treatment of chronic leukemia. • Fucoxanthin (FUCO) is a functional food compound with antitumor potential. • FUCO reduces proliferation of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells in vitro. • FUCO modulates the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in CML cells. • FUCO induces apoptosis and increases ROS levels in CML cells.