Chitosan

October 3, 2020

This article provides general nutrition information only and is not medical advice.

Overview

Chitosan is a sugar that is obtained from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish, including crab, lobster, and shrimp. It is used for medicine.

Chitosan is used for obesity, high lipid balance, high cardiovascular health, and Crohn condition. It is also used for issues caused by kidney failure, including high lipid balance, "tired blood" (anemia), loss of strength and appetite, high phosphorous levels (hyperphosphatemia), and trouble sleeping (sleep quality).

Some people apply chitosan directly to their gums for physical strain that can lead to tooth loss (periodontitis), or chew gum that contains chitosan to prevent "cavities" (dental caries). It is also used in the eyes to support dry eyes.

In an effort to help "donor tissue" rebuild itself, plastic surgeons sometimes apply chitosan directly to places from which they have taken tissue to be used elsewhere. Chitosan is also used to stop bleeding after some surgeries.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, chitosan is used as a filler in tablets, to improve the way certain drugs dissolve, and to mask bitter tastes. It is also used to help make foods last longer.

Classification

Is a Form Of:

Sugar

Primary Functions:

Obesity, high lipid balance, high cardiovascular health

Also Known As:

Ascorbate de Chitosane, Chitosan Ascorbate, Chitosane

How Does It Work?

Chitosan is extracted from the shells of shrimp, lobster, and crabs. It is a fibrous substance that might block absorption of dietary fat and lipid balance. When used on wounds, chitosan helps blood to clot.

Uses

High cardiovascular health. People with slightly high cardiovascular health are often told to reduce their intake of table salt. Early research shows that replacing table salt with a table salt product that contains small amounts of chitosan (Symbiosal) can decrease cardiovascular health more than just reducing table salt intake.
Recovery from surgery. Scar tissue can sometimes form in the sinuses after surgery. Early research shows that using a chitosan gel can prevent the scar tissue from attaching. However, the chitosan gel doesn't seem to reduce swelling or immune challenges.

Recommended Dosing

The following doses have been studied in scientific research:

BY MOUTH:

For high cardiovascular health: Up to 3 grams daily of a table salt product containing chitosan (Symbiosal) has been used instead of regular table salt.

APPLIED TO THE SKIN:

For recovery from surgery: Chitosan gel has been applied by a healthcare professional into the sinuses for ten minutes following sinus surgery.

Chitosan Supplements Frequently Asked Questions

What is chitosan supplement used for?

Is Chitosan good for kidneys?

Chitosan is used to support obesity, high lipid balance, and Crohn's condition. It is also used to support complications that kidney failure patients on dialysis often face, including high lipid balance, “tired blood” (anemia), loss of strength and appetite, and trouble sleeping (sleep quality).

What is a chitosan supplement?

Chitosan is a dietary supplement made from the shells of crustaceans such as crabs, shrimp, and lobster. Often marketed as a natural weight loss aid, supplement manufacturers claim that chitosan can fight fat absorption.

How much chitosan should I take daily?

Generally, people taking chitosan for lipid balance reduction use between 1000 and 1200 mg twice daily, although dosages in some studies have been as high as 6 g/day. Chitosan for weight management has been used in dosages ranging from 1 to 5 g/day, taken in divided doses.

What foods contain chitosan?

Chitosan is a sugar that is obtained from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish, including crab, lobster, and shrimp. It is used for medicine. Chitosan is used to support obesity, high lipid balance, and Crohn's condition.

Can chitosan lower creatinine levels?

Chitosan is a dietary supplement mostly used by people hoping to lose weight or reduce lipid balance. There's some research indicating that chitosan may also be effective in reducing creatinine levels in people with renal failure. Before starting chitosan or any other dietary supplement, talk with your doctor.

Can drinking more water lower creatinine levels?

Drinking more water could lower the serum creatinine level, but does not change kidney function. Forcing excessive water intake is not a good idea.

Is chitosan FDA approved?

Chitosan is biodegradable and the process occurs either by chemical or enzyme catalysis. Additionally, chitosan is approved as safe by US-FDA and EU for dietary use and wound dressing applications. However, the toxicity of chitosan increases by increasing charge density and degree of deacetylation.

Is Chitosan a fiber?

Chitosan is a natural dietary fibre and a deacetylated form of chitin that can be obtained from the shells of crustaceans as a by-product. Chitosan is considered to be an insoluble fibre; but, it will dissolve in stomach acid and become soluble and viscous, behaving like a soluble fibre.

Does chitosan raise blood sugar?

Chitosan is a natural and versatile biomaterial with a blood-glucose-lowering effect in diabetic animals, but the mechanism of action is still unknown. These alternations caused by diabetes could be effectively reversed by both chitosan nutritional supports.

Is Chitosan natural?

The natural biocontrol active ingredients, chitin/chitosan, are found in the shells of crustaceans, such as lobsters, crabs, and shrimp, and many other organisms, including insects and fungi. It is one of the most abundant biodegradable materials in the world.

Does chitosan cause constipation?

The most commonly reported adverse effects of chitosan are gastrointestinal problems, such as nausea, diarrhea, and constipation. These effects are generally not reported as being severe enough to cause discontinuation of chitosan use.

How much fat can chitosan absorb?

Chitosan supplements are marketed as 'fat blockers' or 'fat trappers'. It is claimed that chitosan blocks the absorption of as much as 120 g of dietary fat per day, and that this will promote weight loss.

Where can I get chitosan?

How does chitosan work in the body?

Chitosan is promoted as a product that binds to lipids in the gastrointestinal tract, decreasing their absorption and lowering body weight. Chitosan's purported mechanism of action offers the dream of weight loss without dietary restrictions or lifestyle modifications (such as exercise).

Does chitosan lower lipid balance?

As a dietary supplement, chitosan has been claimed to control obesity and to lower serum lipid balance. There are only few studies with chitosan in humans. In man, dietary chitosan has been reported to reduce serum total lipid balance levels by 5.8-42.6% and low-density lipoprotein levels by 15.1-35.1%.

Is chitosan safe for diabetics?

Is chitosan effective for weight loss?

Findings Shifted. Overall, the data showed that people taking chitosan lost about 3.7 extra pounds and improved their cardiovascular health and lipid balance, compared with those taking the placebo. But some of those results changed when the researchers took a closer look at the studies.

How do you make chitosan gel?

2.1 Gel preparation

The chitosan is dissolved in an acetic acid solution (pH = 4). The prepared solution is injected drop by drop using a syringe in a gelling solution (solution of sodium hydroxide 3M or sodium dodecylsulphate solution 50mM). The obtained solution is maintained for 6 hours at room temperature (25°C).

Is chitosan expensive?

Chitosan is an expensive biopolymer (more than one thousand euros per kilogram at Aldrich, for example), despite being sources from abundant marine wastes, including crab, shrimp or lobster shells.

What are the side effects of chitosan?

When taken by mouth, chitosan might cause mild stomach upset, constipation, or gas. When used on the skin, chitosan can cause irritation.

Is chitosan toxic?

Chitosan's toxicity. Chitosan is widely regarded as being a non-toxic, biologically compatible polymer [59]. It is approved for dietary applications in Japan, Italy and Finland [60] and it has been approved by the FDA for use in wound dressings [61].

How is chitosan extracted?

Chitosan extraction was done following three major steps, i.e., demineralization, deproteination, and deacetylation. For deacetylation, chitin was treated with strong alkali, i.e., 1 g of chitin was added to 50% NaOH for 1 h at 121°C, 15 psi followed by washing till it reaches neutral pH.

Is chitosan an allergen?

Made from chitosan, a polysaccharide derived from shrimp shells, this bandage effectively stops bleeding. There are no studies reporting the safety of this bandage in shellfish allergic patients. METHODS: Patients who reported shellfish allergy were recruited.

s chitosan water soluble?

Chitosan is a weak base and is insoluble in water and organic solvent. However, it is soluble in dilute aqueous acidic solution (pH<6.5), which can convert glucosamine units into soluble form R – NH 3 + (Kumar, Muzzarelli, Muzzarelli, Sashiwa, & Domb, 2004).

Does Chitosan Really Work?

It is not clear if chitosan can help with weight loss. Some research shows that combining chitosan with a low-calorie diet result in a small amount of weight loss. But taking chitosan without cutting calories, doesn't improve weight loss. Wound healing.