A new synthetic form of chitosan helps people to lose 1 kg weight a month, and researchers from India have written about it in Nutrition Journal. The amount of weight loss is not much, but it’s better than nothing, you would think. So it’s a bit of a shame that a large amount of the weight loss is decline in muscle mass.
Chitosan
Lose three kg in three months without dieting: chitosan
Chitosan is a controversial slimming supplement. It’s a polysaccharide which is created when the enzyme chitine-deacetylase converts chitine.
Chitine is the material from which the hard exoskeleton of crabs and insects is made. Most of the chitosan on the market is made from crab and lobster shells, but in this study the researchers used chitosan that had been produced by an Aspergillus niger fungus in a bioreactor. The chitosan was manufactured by the Belgian KitoZyme, and goes by the name of KiOnutrime-CsG.
It is not clear whether KitoZyme had any involvement in the study. The researchers in India were part of Ethicare Clinical Trial Services, a commercial research company in Ahmedabad. It’s unlikely that they provided their services for free, but where the money for the study came from is not revealed in the article. An employee of KitoZyme is named as co-author of the publication.
Study
The researchers gave 56 overweight people 5 capsules each containing 500 mg chitosan every day for 90 days. They took 1 capsule early in the morning, 2 capsules a quarter of an hour before lunch, and another 2 capsules before their evening meal. The subjects swallowed the capsules with water. A control group of 30 people were given a placebo.
Results
The subjects in the chitosan group lost – without dieting or doing extra exercise – about 3 kg bodyweight. That was a statistically significant effect.
The fat percentage and waist circumference measurement both decreased in the chitosan group. Those effects were statistically significant too.
Muscle mass also declined in the chitosan group. That effect wasn’t earth shattering, but it was significant.
A quick sum
Compared with the placebo group the chitosan group lost 2.8 kg bodyweight and 1.2 kg muscle mass. So more than 40 percent of the lost weight took the form of muscle mass.
Single-blind, placebo controlled randomised clinical study of chitosan for body weight reduction
Abstract
Background
Chitosan is a dietary fibre which acts by reducing fat absorption and thus used as a means for controlling weight. Weight loss clinical trial outcomes, however, have contradictory results regarding its efficacy. The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a chitosan from fungal origin in treatment of excess weight in the absence of dietary restrictions.
Methods
A phase IV, randomised, multicentre, single-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical study was conducted by administering chitosan capsules (500 mg, five/day) and indistinguishable placebo capsules as daily supplements to 96 overweight and obese subjects for 90 days. The study participants were divided in 2:1 ratio to receive either chitosan (n?=?64) or placebo (n?=?32). Efficacy was assessed by measuring body weight, body composition parameters, anthropometric measurements, HbA1C level and lipid profile at day 45 and day 90. Also, short form-36 quality of life (QoL) questionnaire was assessed to evaluate improvement in life-style and dietary habits were recorded for calorie intake. Safety was assessed by evaluating safety parameters and monitoring adverse events.
Results
The mean changes in body weight were -1.78?±?1.37 kg and -3.10?±?1.95 kg at day 45 and day 90 respectively in chitosan group which were significantly different (p?< ?0.0001) as compared to placebo. BMI was decreased by10.91 fold compared to placebo after 90 day administration. In concert with this, there was also reduction in body composition and anthropometric parameters together with improvement in QoL score. Chitosan was also able to reduce HbA1C levels (below 6 %) in subjects who had initial higher values. The mean caloric intake shows that there was no change in dietary habits of subjects in both groups. Lipid levels were unaffected and all adverse events were mild in nature and unrelated to study treatment.
Conclusion
Chitosan from fungal origin was able to reduce the mean body weight up to 3 kg during the 90 day study period. 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. It was safe and well tolerated by all subjects.
Source: http://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-016-0122-8
