http://www.lipidyne.com/scb.htm
Below are references and excerpts from the
scientific literature on Chitosan. LIPIDYNE
contains 200mg of Chitosan per capsule.
LIPIDYNE has been specially formulated to aid in
weight loss. Chitosan comes in other formulations
that are used as the literature outlines. LIPIDYNE
should be used only for weight loss! Consult your
doctor if you desire more information on the uses of
Chitosan for diseases and afflictions as discussed in
the literature below. This information is mostly
technical and is taken from scientific journals etc.
The shellfish industry has produced
waste shell over the centuries. But,
never before have the production and
harvesting techniques been so
efficient as to produce tremendous
localised quantities of waste shell.
Thus the potential enviromental
problems faced over the past twenty
years has resulted in efforts to find
uses for these materials. Coupled
with the above problem has been a
growing interest in natural materials.
Chitin is an interesting biopolymer which could have many
market applications. Unfortunately the cost of conversion is
so
expensive that normal commodity applications are more
economically handled by other materials. This situation
has
forced potential suppliers of chitin products to look at specialty
niches where chitin's unique porperties are economically viable.
For centuries, chitin in various forms had been known for its
versatility and safety. Pacific Northwest native tribes
had for
generations used ground crab shells in wound dressings. Today
hospitals use chitosin-bearing bandages on burn patients to
prevent scarring. The uses in agriculture, pulp and paper, waste
water treatment and health foods alone are enormous. Chitosan
is
used in nutritional supplements where it ties up fats and prevents
their digestion.
"A polymer is a molecule whose units are repeated and join in
a
chain. Chitosan is a very long chain with electrical charges,
which act like hooks, scattered along its length. These "hooks"
gather up and bind to suspended fats and cholesterol in the
stomach and intestines and make these "lipids" unavailable for
absorption by the body." F. Lee Johnson
Chitin was first isolated in 1811 by the French pharmacist
Braconnot. Emil Fischer synthesized glucosamine (1903), Paul
Karrer used 'Schneckensaft' to degrade chitin (1929), and Walter
N. Haworth established the absolute configuration of
glucosamine (1939) (note: all three are Nobel laureates).
However, chitin was considered an exotic playground for
biologists until a book, 'Chitin', was published in 1977 by
Riccardo A.A. Muzzarelli. Since then, the scientific and
commercial 'chitin community' has grown rapidly.
Biological activities of chitin and chitosan include
wound-healing acceleration and tissue regeneration, most likely
mediated by chito-oligosaccharides. An ever-increasing diverstiy
of interactions between micro-organisms, plants, insects, and
vertebrates is unravelling: chito-oligosaccharides activate
macrophages, act as elicitors of plant defense, and are structural
units of Rhizobium node factors, Evidence is accumulating that
chito-oligosaccharides possess morphogenetic functions in
ontogenesis of vertebrates and act as primers of hyaluronate
biosynthesis. The enzymology of chitinases and chitosanases is
only in its beginnings, and the biotechnology of chitin/chitosan
processing is one of the most promising areas of research in
coming years.
Modified chitins have been administered to humans in the form
of
dressings for wounded soft tissues and bone tissues, in
anticholesterolemic dietary food, and in items for the controlled
delivery of drugs. Uses of chitin/chitosan are detailed in Table
1.
Table 1. Available chitin-based products for wound
dressings
(sterilised by ethylene oxide or gamma
irradiation)
Products:
Regenerated chitin powders
Chitin non-woven fabric
Porous beads
Lyophilised soft fleeces
Gel-forming lyophilised soft fleeces
Gel-forming lyophilised soft gauze
Laminated sheets
Transparent films
Microspheres
Associations with:
Cellulose
Collagen
Keratin
Chondroitin sulphate
Polyester
Poly(tetrafluorourethylene)
Polyurethane
Polyethylene terephthalate
In addition, scientists have reported that chitins show
antibacterial, antimetastatic, antiuricemic, antiosteoporotic
and
immunoadjuvant activities, indicating a large general potential
of
the polysaccharide in alleviating diseases, preventing sickness
and contributing to good health [2,7].
Biomedical applications:
Weight loss and weight control
Chitosan exhibits anticholesterolemic, antiulcer
and
antiuricemic properties when orally administered.
These
properties are related to its capacity to
bind fatty acids, bile
acids, phospholipids, and uric acid.
In the presence of fatty
acids, chitosan can form complex salts that
bind
triglycerides, fatty and bile acids, cholesterol
and other
sterols, and a large portion of these bound
compounds are
excreted [70,71]. However, chitosan
does not depress
serum iron and haemoglobin levels, nor does
it
overstimulate 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA
reductase. It
also does not alter the human intestinal microbiota,
but
lowers the putrefaction metabolites.
Data on the dietary
effects of chitosan in adult men have been
published [72].
The results indicate a favourable effect with
a very low
dose within a short period [73,74].
Skin substitutes
Chitosan is indispensable in the production
of skin
substitutes. Not only for providing
insolubility, but also for
increasing the production of collagen and
regulatory factors
by fibroblasts. The addition of chitosan
also increases the
cytotoxicity levels, and provides good adhesion
(better than
collagen alone) without proliferation problems.
The dermal
substitute does not cause any antigenic incompatibility
and
allows controlled vascularisation and fibroblastic
colonisation, resulting in an organised matrix
and limited
formation of granulation and hypertrophic
scar [46,53,54].
Nerve regeneration
Chitosan is suitable as a matrix for anchorage-dependent
mammalian cell encapsulation [55]. For application
in
neurosurgery, macrocapsules and hollow fibres
made of
polyacrylonitrile-polyvinyl chloride (PAN-PVC)
were
filled with a PC12 cell suspension in a chitosan
solution.
The chitosan prevents extensive cell clumping
and necrosis.
When microencapsulated with chitosan,
the PC12 cells
attached successfully to the precipitated
chitosan and
respond to exposure to Nerve Growth Factor
(NGF) by
extending neuritis. Differentiation
of neuronal cells was
also suported by the chitosan matrix.
Meniscus regeneration
Chitosan has also been used to assist the
spontaneous tissue
repair of the meniscus, which is usually extremely
difficult.
Its initail angiogenetic action appears to
be effective enough
to stimulate the repair of the menicus by
providing the latter
with the necessary tissue elements and humoral
factors [56]
Regeneration of bone tissue
Several studies dealing with the reconstruction
of the
periodontal tissue with chitosan were a prelude
to the
discovery of the osteoinductive properties
of chitosan
[57,58]. Surgical wounds from wisdom tooth
avulsions
were treated with freeze-dried methlpyrrolikinone
chitosan,
which promoted bone regeneration.
The existence of osteoprogenitor (bone producing)
cells in
the wound site offers the possibility of regenerating
the
periodontal, peri-implant and alveolar ridge
bone tissue
simply with the aid of chemical mediators
from chitosan. It
has been found that the amount of bone forming
colonies is
almost doubled in the presence of chitosan.
Chitosan also
stimulates the differentiation of osteoprogenitor
cells,
thereby facilitating the formation of bone
[60].
The pattern of bone regeneration has been studied
in an
osteoporotic experimental model with Bone
Morphogenetic
Protein (BMP) linked to chitosan. Biodegradation
of
chitosan leads to a controlled release of
BMP, providing a
synergetic effect on bone formation. Morphometric
and
morphological analyses show that bone tissue
regeneration
in a surgical bone defect is improved using
this special
chitosan. This important result also proves
the validity of a
biochemical approach to the therapeutical
correction of
various afflictions in the elderly [65].
Anti-inflammatory drug delivery
Indomethacin, an anti-inflammatory drug that
inhibits
enzymes involved in prostaglandin systhesis,
has been
administered per os to male humans in the
form of
rapid-release granules and slow-release beads,
prepared
from chitosans of defined molecular mass [66].
N-Acetylglucosamine (Chitin) itself is also
an
anti-inflammatory drug; it is synthesised
in the human body
from glucose ande incorporated into glycosaminoglycans
and clycoproteins. It has been administered
to human
volunteers by intravehous, intramuscular and
oral routes for
pharmocokinetic studies [68]. It was
found that
N-acetylglucosamine diffuses very rapidly
in most tissues
and organs, even after oral administration,
and accumulates
in the articular tissue and bone [68,69].
References
2.
R.A.A. Muzzarelli, in Polymeric Biomaterials
(S.
Dumitriu, ed.) (1993) Marcel Dekker,
New York.
7.
N. Mita, T. Asano and K. Mizuochi, JP
02,311,421, CA
114:150221 (1989).
56.
R.A.A. Muzzarelli, V. Bicchiega, G.
Biagini, A.
Pugnaloni and R. Rizzoli, J. Bioact.
Compat. Polym. 7
(1992) 130-148.
57.
R.A.A. Muzzarelli, G. Biagini, A. Pugnaloni,
O. Filippini,
V. Baldassarre, C. Castaldini and C.
Rizzoli,
Biomaterials 10 (1989) 598-603.
58.
G. Roussille and B. Barthet, J. Mat.
Sci. Mater. Med. 2
(1991) 208-211.
60.
P.R. Klokkevold, L. Vandemark, E.B.
Kennedy and G.W.
Bernard, J. Periodontol, 67 (1996) 1170-1177.
65.
G. Biagini, R.A.A. Muzzarelli, O. Talassi,
R. Giardino,
M. Mattioli Belmonte and C. Castaldini,
J. Bioact. Comp.
Polym., 12 (1997) 6-14.
66.
M. Otagiri, T. Imai and S. Shirachi,
JP 05 17,371, CA
118:198238 (1993).
68.
I. Setnitkar, R. Palumbo, S. Canali
and G. Zanolo,
Arnzeim Forsh. Drug Res. 43 (1993) 1109-1113.
69.
M.F. McCarty, Med. Hypoth. 42 (1994)
323-327.
70.
Unconventional Sources of Dietary Fiber
(I. Furda, ed.)
(1983) ACS, Washington DC.
71.
J.L. Nauss, J.L. Thompson and J. Nagyvary,
Lipids 18
(1993) 714-719.
72.
B.E. Hakala, C. White and A.D. Fecklies,
J. Biol. Chem.
268 (1993) 25803-25810.
73.
Y. Maezaki, K. Tsuji and K. Nakagawa,
Biosc. Biotech.
Biochem, 57 (1993) 1439-1444.
74.
R.A.A. Muzzarelli, Carbohydr. Polym.
29 (1996)
309-316.
The Chitosan Molecule; a polysaccharide very similar to
cellulose.
Some Properties of Chitin & Chitosan:
Chitin
The natural structural component of shellfish
such as crab, shrimp and lobster
The most plentiful natural polymer next to
cellulose
Biodegradable and nontoxic
Chitosan-Polyamine
High molecular weight
Soluble in most dilute acidic solutions
A polyamine
Biodegradable and nontoxic
Insoluble at pH's above 6.5
Chitosan-Cationic
High charge density (positive)
Compatible with strong cationics
Forms strong, clear films
Forms clear aqueous solutions with excellent
heat and shear stability
Excellent flocculent
Forms gels with multivalent anions
Chelates metal ions
Biodegradable and nontoxic
Low to extra-high viscosity grades available
All Text & Graphics
© Copyright GIACOM Incorporated 1998
All Rights Reserved
http://www.fatblockerdiet.com/FBinfo2.html
About Chitosan
Each capsule of Chitosan Fat Blocker Diet contains:
Chitosan
400 mg.
Potassium
33 mg.
Buffered Vitamin C
20 mg.
Directions:
As a dietary supplement take 1-2 capsules 30 minutes prior to
lunch
and 1-2 capsules prior to dinner with 8 oz. of liquid.
You should not take Chitosan if you have any kind of shellfish
allergy, pregnant or breastfeeding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CHITOSAN? (Ki-to-san)
Chitosan is a natural product derived
from chitin,
a polysaccharide found in the exoskeleton
of
shellfish, like shrimp, crawfish, and
lobster.
Chitosan is a naturally occurring substance
that is similar to cellulose.
It has the ability to
significantly bind fat acting like a
"fat sponge"
in the digestive tract.
What are the side effects
You should not take this product if
you are allergic to
shellfish or if you are a pregnant or
lactating woman or
anyone taking medications should consult
a
health care professional before taking
this
product. Fat-soluble vitamins
A, D, E, K,
essential fatty acids, as well as medications
should be taken 4 hours before or after
ingesting Chitosan.
How do I take it?
You should take 1-2 capsules, 30 minutes
before lunch, and 1-2
capsules before dinner. It is
important to drink at least 8 ounces
of liquid with this supplement.
If I am taking Chitosan, what other nutritional
supplements
should I take?
Virtually all nutritional supplements
are fine to take with
Chitosan. You should, however,
add 400 I.U. of Vitamin E taken
4 hours prior to or 4 hours after taking
Chitosan.
What's in the Fat Blocker Diet Supplement?
Each capsule contains 400 mg. Chitosan,
33 mg. Potassium
and 20 mg. of Buffered Vitamin C.
How much weight can I expect to lose?
Naturally, weight loss will vary depending
upon your metabolism
and dietary and exercise habits.
But generally speaking, people
have reported anywhere from 5-15 pounds
per month.
Do I have to exercise?
Medical doctors tell us that exercise
is beneficial for overall
health.
Is there any age restrictions on taking
Chitosan?
If you are under 18 years of age, you
should consult your
physician.
I have allergies, is there anything in
Chitosan that will
effect me?
Chitosan is made of shellfish.
If you have known
allergies to shellfish, then it should
not be
taken. Also, it contains potassium
and buffered
Vitamin C. If any of these ingredients
are
known to cause you allergies, please
do not
take this product.
Is it safe?
Chitosan and the other ingredients in
this
formula have been proven to be safe
if you
follow the suggested use and read all
warning
labels. It is always advisable
to check with
your health care professional before
you start
any type of weight loss program.
Is it safe for seniors?
Always check with your doctor for approval.