Microwave-assisted extraction of sulfated polysaccharides (fucoidan) from brown seaweed

► Fucoidan was recovered from brown seaweed by microwave-assisted extraction. ► Pressure, extraction time, and alga/water ratio affected the fucoidan yield. ► Extraction conditions able to maximize the fucoidan recovery were established. ► Recovered fucoidan was constituted by fucose, xylose and galactose. ► MAE with short extraction time was effective to recover fucoidan from seaweed. Sulfated polysaccharides (fucoidan) were recovered from brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). Different conditions of pressure (30–120psi), extraction time (1–31min), and alga/water ratio (1/25 to 5/25gml−1) were evaluated during this process aiming to establish a condition to maximize the extraction results. The alga degradation (%), total sugar yield (%), and SO3 content (%) were also determined to each experimental condition. All the studied variables presented significant (p