The FAQ for chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharide

Q1. What is chitosan? What is Chitosan oligosaccharide?

A: Chitosan is the deacetylated product of chitin, the chemical name is β-1,4-2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose. It is a natural cationic polysaccharide.

Chitosan oligosaccharide is made from chitosan as raw material through papain (or papain and cellulase) enzymolysis, filtration, spray drying and other processes.

Q2. What is the solubility of chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharide?

A: Chitosan has a huge molecular weight, is insoluble in water, and is easily soluble in acetic acid, dilute organic acids (such as hydrochloric acid), etc. Chitosan oligosaccharide has a molecular weight between 322-1610 and is soluble in water.

Q3. Chitosan is insoluble in water, how to prepare the aqueous solution of chitosan?

A: Modified or degraded.

1 Modification: Substitute the amino group in the chitosan molecule with some water-soluble groups, such as carbonyl glycosylation, carboxylation, etc.

2 Degradation: The chitosan is degraded by enzymes or oxidants. When its molecular weight is reduced to 10000~50000, its basic structure remains unchanged and its water solubility increases.

Q4. What is the mechanism of action of chitosan to lower blood lipids?

A: The reason why chitosan lowers blood lipids may be related to its positive charge. Positively charged chitosan and negatively charged bile acids are combined and excreted, and the fat will not be emulsified, which will affect the digestion and absorption of fat, thereby reducing the content of total triglycerides.

Q5. Compared with chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharide, which has better antibacterial activity?

A: Studies have found that chitosan has better antibacterial activity than chitosan oligosaccharide.

Q6. What is the bactericidal mechanism of chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharide?

A: Studies have found that chitosan can play a certain role on the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria, destroying its normal physiological function; Zheng Lianying and others pointed out that high molecular weight chitosan forms a layer of polymer film by adsorbing on the cell surface , prevent the transport of nutrients into the cells, low molecular weight chitosan penetrates into the cells, adsorbs the cytoplasm with anions in the cells, flocculation occurs, and disrupts the normal physiological activities of the cells.

Q7. What are the standards for chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharide?

A: GB 29941-2013 National Food Safety Standard Food Additive Chitosan (Chitosan)

SC/T 3403-2004 Chitin and Chitosan

T/ZZB 0294-2017 Chitosan

Currently, there are no standards related to chitosan oligosaccharide.

Q8. How should chitosan oligosaccharide and chitosan be used in food?

A: In 2014, chitosan oligosaccharide was approved as a new food raw material, which can be used in food (excluding food for infants and young children); chitosan can be added to food as a food additive, and its function is a thickening agent and a coating agent.