A comparative study on hypoglycemic and hypocholesterolemic effects of high and low molecular weight chitosan in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

The hypoglycemic and hypocholesterolemic effects of high and low molecular weight chitosan were evaluated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Rats were divided into three groups of normal rats (Experiment I) and three groups of diabetic rats (Experiment II). The first group received a cellulose (control) diet, the second group received a low MW (1.4 × 104 Da) chitosan diet and the third group received a high MW (1.0 × 106 Da) chitosan diet. All three diets were containing 0.5% cholesterol. Experiment I: rats fed with high MW or low MW chitosan diet had increased high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. However, chitosan did not affect plasma glucose in normal rats. Experiment II: significantly decreased plasma glucose and total cholesterol and increased HDL cholesterol and fecal cholesterol excretion were observed in diabetic rats fed with high MW chitosan diet than animals fed with cellulose diet. However, no statistical significant difference in plasma glucose and total cholesterol was observed in diabetic rats fed with low MW chitosan. The total content of SCFAs in cecum was significantly increased and the ratio of acetate to propionate was slight but significantly decreased in diabetic rats after consuming high MW chitosan diet. The activities of hepatic hexokinase were significantly increased and the intestinal disaccharidases including sucrase and maltase were significantly decreased in normal and diabetic rats fed with high MW chitosan diet. Results obtained from the present study demonstrated the potential of high MW chitosan in reducing hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia in STZ-induced diabetic rats.