Chitosan may help weight management: Human data

12-Jan-2016 - Last updated on 12-Jan-2016 at 15:50 GMT

Image: iStockPhoto

Supplements of chitosan derived from fungus may help reduce body weight and BMI in overweight subjects, says a new study from Belgium and India.

Scientists from Ethicare Clinical Trial Services in Ahmedabad, India and KitoZyme in Belgium report that 2,500 mg per day of KitoZyme’s KiOnutrime-CsG was associated with mean body weight losses of up to 3 kg over 90 days, compared to about 0.3 kg in the placebo group.

Improvements to BMI and levels of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), a marker of long-term presence of excess glucose in the blood, were also reported in the paper published in the PubMed listed Nutrition Journal.

“It is already reported that chitosan can regulate lipids with benefit on anthropometric parameters,” they wrote. “The reduction in body composition and anthropometric parameters observed in our study can be attributed to general reduction in body weight possibly due to reduction in fat absorption by chitosan.”

Chitosan

Chitosan is a dietary fiber and KitoZyme produces its KiOnutrime-CsG ingredient using “suitable and safe raw material sources of Aspergillus niger obtained from manufacturers of food grade citric acid”, said the company.

The ingredient has been studied for its potential fat blocking properties for many years but data from weight loss clinical trial have been contradictory, explained the authors of the new study.

For the new phase IV, randomized, multi-center, single-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical study, the scientists recruited 96 overweight and obese people and randomly divided them into two groups: The first group (32 people) received placebo, and the second group (64 people) received five capsules per day of 500 mg of chitosan. No dietary restrictions were placed on the participants.

generic capsules — Study participants took five capsules per day, each providing a chitosan dose of 500 mg: One capsule was taken in the morning, two capsules were taken before lunch, and two capsules were taken before dinner. Image: iStockPhoto

The data showed that body weight decreased in the chitosan by a mean of 1.78 kg and 3.10 kg after 45 and 90 days of supplementation, and these values were significantly different to the placebo group. Dietary habits didn’t change over the course of the study, added the researchers.

BMI also decreased significantly more in the chitosan group compared to the placebo, they said.

“In concert with this, there was also reduction in body composition and anthropometric parameters together with improvement in [quality of life] score,” they wrote.

“We conclude that KiOnutrime-CsG capsules, containing 500 mg of chitosan from fungal origin, were able to reduce the mean body weight up to 3 kg during the 90-days study period,” wrote the researchers.

“Together with this, there was also improvement in body composition, anthropometric parameters and HbA1C, reflecting overall benefits for the overweight individuals. Additionally, there was also improvement in QoL score. KiOnutrime-CsG capsulewas also found to be safe and well tolerated by all study participants.”

Source: Nutrition Journal
2016, 8;15, doi: 10.1186/s12937-016-0122-8
“Single-blind, placebo controlled randomised clinical study of chitosan for body weight reduction”
Authors: V.R. Trivedi, M.C. Satia, A. Deschamps, V. Maquet, R.B. Shah, P.H. Zinzuwadia, J.V. Trivedi