Chitin-glucan fiber effects on oxidized low-density lipoprotein: a randomized controlled trial

Elevated oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) may promote inflammation, and is associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease and worsening complications of diabetes mellitus. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of chitin-glucan (CG), alone and in combination with a potentially anti-inflammatory olive oil (OO) extract, for reducing OxLDL in subjects with borderline to high LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels.

This 6-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of a novel, insoluble fiber derived from the Aspergillus niger mycelium, CG, evaluated 130 subjects free of diabetes mellitus with fasting LDL-C 3.37-4.92 mmol/l and glucose ≤ 6.94 mmol/l. Participants were randomly assigned to receive CG (4.5 g/day; n=33), CG (1.5 g/day; n=32), CG (1.5 g/day) plus OO extract (135 mg/day; n=30), or matching placebo (n=35).

Administration of 4.5 g/day CG for 6 weeks significantly reduced OxLDL compared with placebo (P=0.035). At the end of study, CG was associated with lower LDL-C levels relative to placebo, although this difference was statistically significant only for the CG 1.5 g/day group (P=0.019). CG did not significantly affect high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin or F2-isoprostane levels. Adverse events did not substantively differ between treatments and placebo.

In this 6-week study, CG (4.5 g/day) reduced OxLDL, an effect that might affect the risk for atherosclerosis.