CHITOSAN
Chitosan has been popular in nutritional industry for years. What makes
it so popular in the industry? What is its benefit?
Chitosan has been popular in nutritional industry for years. What makes
it so popular in the industry? What is its benefit?
WHAT IS CHITOSAN / CHITIN?
Chitin is a natural biopolymer derived from exoskeletons of crustaceans
and also from cell walls of fungi and insects. Chitin is a linear beta
1,4-linked polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc). Chitosan is
different from chitin; chitosan is a collective name representing a family of
de-N-acetylated chitins deacetylated to different degrees. Both chitin,
chitosan and their modified derivatives have been applied in medicine,
agriculture, food, and non-food industries. [1]
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF CHITOSAN?
Chitosan is particularly interested in the nutritional industry when it was
introduced into the market in the 1990s. Health food supplement
manufacturers suggested its potential as a nutritional adjunct for weight
management. They emphasized favorable results from a few studies; they
claimed that chitosan was a beneficial effect on weight loss, cholesterol,
ulcers, osteoporosis and blood pressure. They hypothesized that the
electrical charges that chitosan carries may bind to the negative charges
on bile acids and fatty acids, resulting in the hypocholesterolemic
(cholesterol lowering) effect. In addition to enhancing cholesterol excretion,
this ionic bonding resulted in excretion of fat, along with its associated
phospholipids, monoglycerides and other fatty acids.
How much chitosan should a person take to be effective to prevent the fat
absorption? If a person ingests two pounds of New York Steak, will 1 g of
chitosan be enough? As this is a swelling polymer, definitely, we don't want
to take too much of chiton to block our GI tract!! This article is not
suggesting that chitosan supplements have no benefit on weight
management. In fact, a recent review article assessed results of 14
randomized controlled trials that included 1,131 overweight or obese
adults and the authors found that those who received chitosan had an
average weight loss of almost 4 pounds more than those on placebo in the
short term, and their cholesterol and blood pressure levels also decreased
more than those in the placebo group. And, they didn't observe any side
effects in the group taking chitosan. [2]
WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFEFCTS OF CHITOSAN?
If chitosan really can prevent the fat absorption (as indicated in the recent
report), it can also prevent the absorption of other fat-soluble substances
(e.g. fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acid) and negative-charged
substance (chitosan is positively-charged).
WHAT ARE OTHER POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF
CHITOSAN?
While almost everybody focuses chitosan application on weight
management or obesity prevention or whatever, two research groups are
busy to find more benefits of chitosan:
An Indian research group depolymerized chitosan to obtain water-soluble
low-molecular weight chitosan and chitooligosaccharides. They found that
water-soluble low-molecular weight chitosan and chitooligosaccharides
inhibited the growth of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells and tumor-induced
neovascularization. [3] Almost at the same time, a Japanese research
group also found the low-molecular-weight chitosans or oligochitosan
might be useful in preventing tumor growth through the activation of
intestinal immune functions. [4]
References
[1] Tharanathan RN et al Chitin--the undisputed biomolecule of great
potential. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2003;43(1):61-87.
[2] Ni Mhurchu C, et al. Chitosan for overweight or obesity. The Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews 2005, Issue 3.
[3] Harish Prashanth KV et al, Depolymerized products of chitosan as
potent inhibitors of tumor-induced angiogenesis. Biochim Biophys Acta.
2005 Feb 11;1722(1):22-9. Epub 2004 Dec 15.
[4] Maeda Y et al Antitumor effects of various low-molecular-weight
chitosans are due to increased natural killer activity of intestinal
intraepithelial lymphocytes in sarcoma 180-bearing mice. J Nutr. 2004
Apr;134(4):945-50.
HOME
THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY.. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION, YOU SHOULD
CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2006 ZHION
Chitin is a natural biopolymer derived from exoskeletons of crustaceans
and also from cell walls of fungi and insects. Chitin is a linear beta
1,4-linked polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc). Chitosan is
different from chitin; chitosan is a collective name representing a family of
de-N-acetylated chitins deacetylated to different degrees. Both chitin,
chitosan and their modified derivatives have been applied in medicine,
agriculture, food, and non-food industries. [1]
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF CHITOSAN?
Chitosan is particularly interested in the nutritional industry when it was
introduced into the market in the 1990s. Health food supplement
manufacturers suggested its potential as a nutritional adjunct for weight
management. They emphasized favorable results from a few studies; they
claimed that chitosan was a beneficial effect on weight loss, cholesterol,
ulcers, osteoporosis and blood pressure. They hypothesized that the
electrical charges that chitosan carries may bind to the negative charges
on bile acids and fatty acids, resulting in the hypocholesterolemic
(cholesterol lowering) effect. In addition to enhancing cholesterol excretion,
this ionic bonding resulted in excretion of fat, along with its associated
phospholipids, monoglycerides and other fatty acids.
How much chitosan should a person take to be effective to prevent the fat
absorption? If a person ingests two pounds of New York Steak, will 1 g of
chitosan be enough? As this is a swelling polymer, definitely, we don't want
to take too much of chiton to block our GI tract!! This article is not
suggesting that chitosan supplements have no benefit on weight
management. In fact, a recent review article assessed results of 14
randomized controlled trials that included 1,131 overweight or obese
adults and the authors found that those who received chitosan had an
average weight loss of almost 4 pounds more than those on placebo in the
short term, and their cholesterol and blood pressure levels also decreased
more than those in the placebo group. And, they didn't observe any side
effects in the group taking chitosan. [2]
WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFEFCTS OF CHITOSAN?
If chitosan really can prevent the fat absorption (as indicated in the recent
report), it can also prevent the absorption of other fat-soluble substances
(e.g. fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acid) and negative-charged
substance (chitosan is positively-charged).
WHAT ARE OTHER POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF
CHITOSAN?
While almost everybody focuses chitosan application on weight
management or obesity prevention or whatever, two research groups are
busy to find more benefits of chitosan:
An Indian research group depolymerized chitosan to obtain water-soluble
low-molecular weight chitosan and chitooligosaccharides. They found that
water-soluble low-molecular weight chitosan and chitooligosaccharides
inhibited the growth of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells and tumor-induced
neovascularization. [3] Almost at the same time, a Japanese research
group also found the low-molecular-weight chitosans or oligochitosan
might be useful in preventing tumor growth through the activation of
intestinal immune functions. [4]
References
[1] Tharanathan RN et al Chitin--the undisputed biomolecule of great
potential. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2003;43(1):61-87.
[2] Ni Mhurchu C, et al. Chitosan for overweight or obesity. The Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews 2005, Issue 3.
[3] Harish Prashanth KV et al, Depolymerized products of chitosan as
potent inhibitors of tumor-induced angiogenesis. Biochim Biophys Acta.
2005 Feb 11;1722(1):22-9. Epub 2004 Dec 15.
[4] Maeda Y et al Antitumor effects of various low-molecular-weight
chitosans are due to increased natural killer activity of intestinal
intraepithelial lymphocytes in sarcoma 180-bearing mice. J Nutr. 2004
Apr;134(4):945-50.
HOME
THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY.. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION, YOU SHOULD
CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2006 ZHION
