Ascophyllum nodosum
Our evidence-based analysis on ascophyllum nodosum features 41 unique references to scientific papers.
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Summary of Ascophyllum nodosum
Primary information, health benefits, side effects, usage, and other important details
Ascophyllum nodosum is a species of seaweed found around the globe. It is one of the many species of seaweed called kelp.
Ascophyllum nodosum contains compounds called phlorotannins, which are unique to seaweed and may be able to inhibit starch and lipid absorption. This effect is very unreliable, to the point where two human studies investigating carbohydrate absorption reported two opposite effects.
Ascophyllum nodosum also contains a compound called ascophyllan, which may have immunostimulatory properties. Ascophyllum nodosum extract has anti-inflammatory properties. Much more research is needed to determine the practical significance of Ascophyllum nodosum supplementation.
Though Ascophyllum nodosum is a healthy food, there is no evidence to support its usefulness as a supplement.
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Human studies investigating Ascophyllum nodosum use 4,600 mg of Ascophyllum nodosum extract added to a food product, taken once per day.
More research is needed to determine if this is the optimal dose of Ascophyllum nodosum. Different extract concentrates have not been tested.
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Human Effect Matrix
The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (it excludes animal and in vitro studies) to tell you what effects ascophyllum nodosum has on your body, and how strong these effects are.
| Grade | Level of Evidence [show legend] |
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Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials |
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Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled |
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Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies |
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Uncontrolled or observational studies only |
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Level of Evidence
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The amount of high quality evidence. The more
evidence, the more we can trust the results.
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Outcome |
Magnitude of effect
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The direction and size of the supplement's impact on
each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.
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Consistency of research results
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Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or
VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.
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Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Minor
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- See study |
The reduction in voluntary food intake noted was 16.4% of a test meal (which was 80kcal in this study) and is not likely to make significant effects during weight loss.
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- | - See study |
The noted reduction in food intake was not associated with decreased appetite.
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Things to Note
Is a Form Of
Other Functions:
Primary Function:
Also Known As
Kelp (one of many species), Egg Wrack, Rockweed
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Click here to see all 41 references.
