Antioxidant ofsmallmolecular weightchitosan oligosaccharidein vitro

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in finding natural antioxidants, since they can protect the human body from free radicals and retard the progress of many chronic diseases. This study is to evaluate antioxidant of a certain molecular chitosan oligosaccharide (Mw 1000 Da, COST) in vitro. The antioxidant activities of COST were investigated in vitro by several antioxidant assays, including DPPH radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, reducing power and metal chelating activities.In vitro studies found that COST had noticeable scavenging activities on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical, hydroxyl radical, and superoxide anion, and possessed reducing power and metal chelating activities, and its capability of anti-oxidation enhance with the increase of concentration.COST presents anexcellent biological rolein scavenging free radical, which could be explored as a potential antioxidant or dietary supplement to retard diseases caused by peroxide

Advances in the Study of the Antiatherogenic Function and Novel Therapies for HDL

The hypothesis that raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels could improve the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is facing challenges. There is multitudinous clear clinical evidence that the latest failures of HDL-C-raising drugs show no clear association with risks for CVD. At the genetic level, recent research indicates that steady-state HDL-C concentrations may provide limited information regarding the potential antiatherogenic functions of HDL. It is evident that the newer strategies may replace therapeutic approaches to simply raise plasma HDL-C levels. There is an urgent need to identify an efficient biomarker that accurately predicts the increased risk of atherosclerosis (AS) in patients and that may be used for exploring newer therapeutic targets. Studies from recent decades show that the composition, structure and function of circulating HDL are closely associated with high cardiovascular risk. A vast amount of data demonstrates that the most important mechanism through which HDL antagonizes AS involves the reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) process. Clinical trials of drugs that specifically target HDL have so far proven disappointing, so it is necessary to carry out review on the HDL therapeutics

Anti-Obese Effect of Glucosamine and Chitosan Oligosaccharide in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats

Objective: This study is to evaluate the anti-obese effects of glucosamine (GLC) and chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) on high-fat diet-induced obese rats. Methods: The rats were randomly divided into twelve groups: a normal diet group (NF), a high-fat diet group (HF), Orlistat group, GLC high-, middle-, and low-dose groups (GLC-H, GLC-M, GLC-L), COS1 (COS, number-average molecular weight ≤1000) high-, middle-, and low-dose groups (COS1-H, COS1-M, COS1-L), and COS2 (COS, number-average molecular weight ≤3000) high-, middle-, and low-dose groups (COS2-H, COS2-M, COS2-L). All groups received oral treatment by gavage once daily for a period of six weeks. Results: Rats fed with COS1 gained the least weight among all the groups (P < 0.01), and these rats lost more weight than those treated with Orlistat. In addition to the COS2-H and Orlistat groups, the serum total cholesterol (CHO) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were significantly reduced in all treatment groups compared to the HF group (P < 0.01). The various doses of GLC, COS1 and COS2 reduced the expression levels of PPARγ and LXRα mRNA in the white adipose tissue. Conclusions: The results above demonstrated that GLC, COS1, and COS2 improved dyslipidemia and prevented body weight gains by inhibiting the adipocyte differentiation in obese rats induced by a high-fat diet. Thus, these agents may potentially be used to treat obesity

Hypolipidemic effects of chitosan and its derivatives in hyperlipidemic rats induced by a high-fat diet

Background: Hyperlipidemia (HLP) is the primary risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Various factors, including genetics, physical inactivity, and daily nutritional habits, affect the prevalence of HLP. Recently, it was revealed that dietary fibers, such as pectin, psyllium, and especially chitosan (CTS), may play important roles in hypolipidemic management. Thus, this study aims to determine the hypolipidemic effect and mechanism of CTS and its water-soluble derivatives, chitosan oligosaccharides (MN≤1,000 Da (COSI) and MN≤3,000 Da (COSIII)), in male hyperlipidemic rats induced by a high-fat diet (HFD). Design: After the model creation, 120 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were equally assigned to 12 groups fed various diets as follows: the normal group with basic diet, an HFD group, an HFD group supplemented with three doses of CTS, COSI and COSIII groups, and an HFD group treated with simvastatin (7 mg/kg·d). After 6 weeks, body weight, fat/body ratio, and the relevant biomarkers of serum, liver, and feces were measured. Additionally, the histological analysis of liver and adipose tissue was performed, and the mRNA expressions of liver peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) and hepatic lipase (HL) were examined. Results: Compared with HFD group, rats fed CTS, COSI, and COSIII showed a better ability to regulate their body weight, liver and cardiac indices, fat/body ratio, as well as serum, liver, and fecal lipids, and simultaneously to maintain the appropriate activity of liver and serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), as well as liver and fecal total bile acids (TBA). Simultaneously, there had been a higher mRNA expression of PPARα and HL in the treatment groups. Conclusion: The obtained results suggested that these three function foods can effectively improve liver lipid metabolism by normalizing the expressions of PPARα and HL, and protect liver from the oxidized trauma by enhancing hepatic function, which could be potentially used to remedy hyperlipidemia