Biological activities of chitosan and chitooligosaccharides

Chitosan and its oligosaccharides, which are known to possess multiple functional properties, have attracted considerable interest due to their biological activities and potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, agricultural and environmental industries. Many researchers have focused on chitosan as a potential source of bioactive materials in the past few decades. This review focuses on the biological activities of chitosan and chitooligosaccharides based on our and others' latest research results, including hypocholesterolemic, antimicrobial, immunostimulating, antitumor and anticancer effects, accelerating calcium and iron absorption, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities and so on, which are all correlated with their structures and physicochemical properties. The bioactivities summarized here may provide novel insights into the functions of chitosan, its derivatives or oligosaccharides and potentially enable their use as functional-food components and additives. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.