Effect of dietary chitosans on trace iron, copper and zinc in mice

Dietary chitosans with different molecular weight Mw and the degree of deacetylation DDA (high molecular weight chitosan HCS with Mw 7.60 × 105 and DDA 85.5%, middle molecular weight chitosan MCS with Mw 3.27 × 104 and DDA 85.2%, chito-oligomer COS with Mw 0.99 × 103 and DDA 85.7% and water-soluble chitosan WSC with Mw 3.91 × 104 and DDA 52.6%) were used at the 1.05% level to feed mice for 90 days. Afterwards no pathological symptoms, clinical signs or deaths were observed. The body weight of mice in chitosan group and control group showed no significant difference. Although HCS, COS and WSC had no significant effect on the level of Fe, Zn and Cu in the tested mice’s liver, spleen, heart and kidney, MCS significantly increased the level of Fe, Zn and Cu in liver. Therefore dietary ingestion of chitosan did not depress the level of Fe, Zn and Cu in mice.