Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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Figure 3.18
Effects of LMWC and HMW chitosan on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats.
results suggest that chitosan is an effective material for growth factor delivery and can
help in healing chronic ulcers. The data show that chitosan-bFGF scaffolds are effective in
accelerating wound closure of pressure ulcers in aged animals.
3.4.3 Fat and Hypocholesteremic lowering
3.4.3.1 Function of Chitosan in Fat and Hypocholesteremic Lowering
Chitosan is a natural dietary fiber and is made from the shell of shrimps that were har-
vested from the northern Atlantic Ocean, which has the least level of pollution. The unique
property of chitosan makes it an effective fat blocker. Chitosan can bind dietary fat and
cholesterol. Each gram of chitosan can bind an equal amount of fat. By binding with cho-
lesterol, chitosan can reduce the reabsorption of cholesterol of the bile acid. Chitosan-
bound dietary fats and cholesterol are excreted from the body. Chitosan also reduces the
micelle formation of fat in the intestine and interferes with the enzymatic interaction of
pancreatic lipase with fat.
In early studies on the properties of chitosan, several investigators demonstrated that
chitosan is capable of binding dietary fats and can prevent their absorption through the
Figure 3.19
SEM micrograph of a porous chitosan scaffold.
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