Differential blood lipid-lowering effects of alkylsulfonated chitosan of different molecular weights in Syrian hamsters in vivo.

[[abstract]]This study investigated the effects of alkylsulfonated chitosan of different molecular weights on intestinal lipid absorption, blood lipid profiles and circulating adhesion molecules. Syrian hamsters were fed an AIN-93G-based high‑fat diet (HFD) and were orally administered 5 or 10 mg/kg BW of oligomer (6 kDa) chitosan (OC), low‑molecular-weight (70 kDa) chitosan (LMC) or high‑molecular-weight (200 kDa) chitosan (HMC) four times per week for 12 weeks. Animals receiving 2.5 mg/kg BW lovastatin (LOVA) served as a positive control. The blood lipid profiles of these control animals revealed that all chitosans and LOVA significantly decreased total triglyceride, total cholesterol, low‑density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and very‑low‑density lipoprotein (VLDL)-cholesterol levels in a dose‑dependent manner compared to the HFD-fed controls (POC>HMC. Hamsters receiving 5 and 10 mg/kg LMC (P<0.05) exhibited an increase in fecal fat content. Immunoblot assay revealed that acyl‑coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase-2 (ACAT-2) expression was suppressed in all chitosan-fed animals compared to the HFD-fed controls (P