Title: Low Molecular Weight and Oligomeric Chitosans and Their Bioactivities
VOLUME: 9 ISSUE: 16
Author(s):Heng Yin, Yuguang Du and Junzeng Zhang
Affiliation:Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, China.
Keywords:Low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC), chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), preparation, analytical method, bioactivity
Abstract: Chitosan is one of the most abundant marine-based biopolymers. Low molecular weight and oligomeric chitosans are water-soluble hydrolysates of chitosan. They have been shown to have a wide range of biological activities and industrial applications. In particular, low molecular weight and oligomeric chitosans have been reported to have the health benefits such as immunity regulation, anti-tumor, liver protection, blood lipids lowering, anti-diabetic, antioxidant and anti-obesity. In this paper, the preparation and analytical methods, and bioactivities of these low molecular weight and oligomeric chitosans were reviewed, with the latest progresses introduced and discussed.
