Alginate formulations for enhancing colonic health
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A physiological study to assess the acceptability of daily alginate (Manucol LD) consumption in healthy volunteers
IRAS ID
170394
Contact name
Tariq Iqbal
Contact email
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN16202716
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
ERN-141273, SAF
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 27 days
Research summary
Manucol is a fibre derived from seaweed and is one of many such fibres which are know as alginates. We know that seaweeds are good for you; people in Asia who eat lots of it having less chance of developing certain diseases such as bowel cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Seaweeds are essentially a fibre and alginates extracted from it are used throughout the food industry in products such as ice creams, sauces and jams, and in a number of medicines such as Gaviscon. The active ingredient in seaweed is not known for definite however alginates are thought to play a key role in its beneficial effects.
Through scientific research it has been found that these alginates can bind iron and other heavy metals and are not broken down by digestive processes in the gut. We also know that iron which is unabsorbed can have negative effects on the bowel causing inflammation and changes in the levels of good and bad bacteria in the gut. We are interested in using a form of alginate which is altered for delivery to the human colon and which can bind iron in the colon and thus reduce the damaging effects of this highly reactive metal. We aim to study the effect of alginates in normal healthy people with a view to taking this forward in to studies in patients with colitis and colonic polyps (at risk of changing in to cancer). There is evidence that up to 4 times the maximum dose of “naked” alginate to be used in this study can be taken without side effects. However, in this study, the alginate has been coated for release in the colon; this has not been done before.REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0221
Date of REC Opinion
20 Aug 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion