Abstract
Chitosan, a deacetylated product of chitin, has been demonstrated to lower cholesterol in humans and animals. However, chitosan is not fully soluble in water which would influence absorption in the human intestine. In addition, water-soluble chitosan (WSC) has higher reactivity compared to chitosan. The present study was designed to clarify the effects of WSC and water-soluble chitosan nanoparticles (WSC-NPs) on hypercholesterolemia induced by feeding a high-fat diet in male Sprague-Dawley rats. WSC-NPs were prepared by the ionic gelation method and the spray-drying technique. The nanoparticles were spherical in shape and had a smooth surface. The mean size of WSC-NPs was 650 nm variing from 500 to 800 nm. Results showed that WSC-NPs reduced the blood lipids and plasma viscosity significantly and increased the serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities significantly. This paper is the first report of the lipid-lowering effects of WSC-NPs suggesting that the WSC-NPs could be used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.
Highlights
Dyslipidemia, including hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, or their combination, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease
FTIR spectra of water-soluble chitosan (WSC)-NPs and WSC matrix show that the tripolyphosphoric groups of TPP are linked with the ammonium group of WSC; the inter- and intramolecular actions are enhanced in water-soluble chitosan nanoparticles (WSC-NPs) [15]
The results suggested that the mechanisms of WSC to improve total cholesterol (TC), TG, LDL, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) may different with plasma viscosity
Summary
Dyslipidemia, including hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, or their combination, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Dyslipidemia is characterized by increased fasting concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), in conjunction with decreased concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) [1]. At present, these lipid imbalances are most routinely treated with pharmacological therapy. There has been great interest in the influence of dietary fibers, such as chitosan, on cholesterol absorption in the intestine. Due to the existence of amino groups, chitosan possesses positive charge, so it can bind negatively charged substrates such as lipids and bile acids. Several studies have shown that chitosan has cholesterol-lowering properties both in animals and humans [8, 9]
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