Lipid lowering activity of hydrosoluble chitosan and association withAloe vera L. andBrassica olearaceae L.

Abstract

The lipid lowering activity of chitosan associated with Aloe vera L. or hydrosoluble chitosan with Brassica olearaceae L. has been studied in rats. In this study, rats were submitted to different treatments with hydrosoluble chitosan alone (4% diet), hydrosoluble chitosan associated with Aloe vera L. or hydrosoluble chitosan with Brassica olearaceae L. (1:4, 4% diet) for 35 days, to identify the formula with the highest hypolipaemic potential. The results showed that all treatments reduced blood lipid levels but that hydrosoluble chitosan associated with Brassica olearaceae L. proved most efficient, because it decreased the levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol and triglycerides in blood serum. The overall results suggest that the hydrosoluble chitosan/Brassica olearaceae L. association is a therapeutic alternative for hyperlipidaemia, and in this way may contribute to the prevention of atherogenic processes.

In vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activity of water-soluble chitosan oligosaccharides against Vibrio vulnificus

“…Chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) are produced chemically through acid and alkaline hydrolysis, physically through the use of high temperatures or enzymatically with chitinase, lysozyme, cellulase, lipase, or pronase (35,36). The antimicrobial activity of COS is dependent on the COS and the microorganism (21, 24,26). The results of the present study demonstrate that water-soluble COS A has strong anti-V. vulnificus activity in intestinal epithelial cells and mice.…”

“…COS are watersoluble due to their shorter chain lengths and free amino groups in D-glucosamine units. Specifically, many of these compounds were found to have beneficial biological effects including anti-tumor (17)(18)(19), antimicrobial (20)(21)(22), cholesterol-reducing (23)(24)(25), and free radical scavenging (26)(27)(28) activity. In addition to its lack of toxicity and allergenicity, the biodegradability and biocompatibility of chitosan and COS make it potentially useful for biomaterial, medical, and pharmaceutical applications (29).…”

The role of a mixture of green tea, turmeric and chitosan in the treatment of obesity-related testicular disorders

“…It was reported that oral administration of WSC to rats whether alone or mixed with aloe vera extract could prevent the atherogenic process associated with hyperlipidaemia by depressing blood levels of TC, TG, low density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (Geremias et al 2006). It is important to point out that WSC is not an efficient drug for treating obesity, but it is a preventive medication, that can inhibit fat absorption (Choi et al 2002) and without dietary surveillance, it will not be efficient (Ho et al 2001).…”

“…The animals were sub-divided into 6 equal groups, 10 animals/each. The remaining 5 groups were fed high fat (cafeteria) diet for 35 days (Geremias et al 2006) This diet consisted of 9% protein, 21% carbohydrate, 13.6% lipid, 51.3% water and 5.1% fibers (Serra et al 1987). The second group was fed only cafeteria diet, served as obese control and was not given drugs.…”

“…Both filtrates were mixed, evaporated in a rotavapor at 40-50 ˚C, under reduced pressure, redissolved into alcohol to give a final concentration of 40 mg/dl, and then the dose was calculated to 25 mg/kg, body weight (Saravanan and Pari 2005). The fifth group was given WSC as 4% in the cafeteria diet (Geremias et al 2006).…”