Antioxidant properties of high molecular weight dietary chitosan in vitro and in vivo

The effect of high molecular weight chitosan supplement (HMCS) a natural polymer derived from chitin on indices of oxidative stress was investigated in normal volunteers The use of HMCS for 8 weeks resulted in a significant decrease in total cholesterol levels and atherogenic index and increased levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol HMCS treatment also resulted in a lowered ratio of oxidized to reduced albumin and an increase in total plasma antioxidant activity A good correlation between the atherogenic index and oxidized albumin ratio was found The results suggest that the ratio of oxidized to reduced albumin ratio represents a potentially useful marker of the metabolic syndrome In in vitro studies HMCS slightly reduced the levels of two stable radicals in a dose- and time-dependent manner The strong binding capacity of indoxyl sulfate and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was also observed with HMCS These results suggest that HMCS reduces significant levels of pro-oxidants such as cholesterol and uremic toxins in the gastrointestinal tract thereby inhibiting the subsequent development of oxidative stress in the systemic circulation in humans (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved