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.