{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T03:45:14Z","timestamp":1789616714915,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783555200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"BluGen LLC"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0Ulva lactuca (sea lettuce) is a green macroalgae rich in sulfated polysaccharides (ulvans), polyphenols, and pigments with documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in preclinical models. Translational human data remain limited. Methods: Twenty healthy adults (20\u201335 years; BMI 18.5\u201330 kg\/m2) were enrolled in a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial (CTRI\/2025\/11\/097278) and assigned 1:1 to receive 300 mg of an U. lactuca extract or matched placebo once daily for 28 days. Antioxidant biomarkers (GSH, MDA, catalase, GPx-1, thioredoxin) and inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, IL-6, IL-1\u03b2, IL-11, PPAR-\u03b3) were measured at Day 0 and Day 28. Safety was assessed throughout. Results: Eighteen of 20 participants completed the study. Compared with placebo, U. lactuca produced significant within-group improvements at Day 28 in GSH (+4.04 ng\/mL), GPx-1 (+67.8 \u00b5U\/mL), and catalase (+32.4 kU\/L) and reductions in MDA (\u22126.08 nmol\/mL) and thioredoxin (\u22121.48 ng\/mL); inflammatory markers CRP (\u22120.91 mg\/L), IL-6 (\u22122.97 pg\/mL), IL-11 (\u22124.28 \u00b1 1.88 ng\/mL) and IL-1\u03b2 (\u22128.87 pg\/mL) decreased and PPAR-\u03b3 increased. Conclusions: In this short-duration pilot trial, daily supplementation with 300 mg of an U. lactuca extract was well tolerated and modulated systemic oxidative-stress and low-grade inflammatory biomarkers in healthy adults. Larger and longer studies in populations with elevated oxidative stress are warranted.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18142244","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T14:17:51Z","timestamp":1783606671000},"page":"2244","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Effect of an Ulva lactuca Extract on Systemic Antioxidant and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7345-9635","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ralf","family":"J\u00e4ger","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Increnovo LLC, Whitefish Bay, WI 53217, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hendrik","family":"Luesch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development (CNPD3), College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA"},{"name":"Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2591-5453","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martin","family":"Purpura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Increnovo LLC, Whitefish Bay, WI 53217, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-5500-7802","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashok","family":"Godavarthi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiant Research Services Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore 560058, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sebastian T.","family":"Balcombe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BluGen LLC, Boca Raton, FL 33432, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ecaterina","family":"Vasenina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance, The University of Tampa, Tampa, FL 33606, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"757","DOI":"10.2147\/CIA.S158513","article-title":"Oxidative stress, aging, and diseases","volume":"13","author":"Liguori","year":"2018","journal-title":"Clin. Interv. 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