title: Low molecular weight and oligomeric chitosans and their bioactivities.
abstract: Chitosan is one of the most abundant marine-based biopolymers. Low molecular weight and oligomeric chitosans are water-soluble hydrolysates of chitosan. They have been shown to have a wide range of biological activities and industrial applications. In particular, low molecular weight and oligomeric chitosans have been reported to have the health benefits such as immunity regulation, anti-tumor, liver protection, blood lipids lowering, anti-diabetic, antioxidant and anti-obesity. In this paper, the preparation and analytical methods, and bioactivities of these low molecular weight and oligomeric chitosans were reviewed, with the latest progresses introduced and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Liaoning Provincial Key laboratory of Carbohydrates, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, China.
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Yuguang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Junzeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002686:Chitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D009844:Oligosaccharides
chemical_list: D009844:Oligosaccharides; C493484:oligochitosan; D002686:Chitin; D048271:Chitosan