With the evident efficacy of chitosan and as a matter of improving global health and well-being through nutrition, KitoZyme has successfully designed KiOnutrime-Cs®. This is a unique, vegetal chitosan that is dedicated to the nutraceutical industry.
Thanks to the following unique benefits, KiOnutrime-Cs® is the right ingredient to boost your products:
Superior fat-binding capacity - at least 800 times its own weight in fat in vitro
Safe and non-allergenic: 100% animal-free, GMO-free, allergen-free
High purity ingredient (90%)
Leaves all the good nutrients
Scientifically-designed ingredient
Odorless and tasteless
Appropriate for use in Kosher, Halal and vegetarian products
Specifications
KiOnutrime-Cs® is a high-added-value vegetal biopolymer that is composed of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and D-glucosamine units. As compared to chitosan from crustacean shells, the competitive advantages of KiOnutrime-Cs® are clear: consistent, vegetal and renewable source, no risk of allergy or risk linked to heavy metals, high-purity, guaranteed traceability and excellent control of molecular characteristics that are designed to enable superior efficacy, optimum health effects and faster dissolution.
KiOnutrime-Cs® is a fine free-flowing, off-white to light brown, odorless and preservative-free powder.
Formulation
It can be easily used in all formulations from the standards. These include anything from capsules and tablets to the most innovative forms, e.g. sachets, gums, soft-gel capsules, bars and so on. Furthermore, vegetal chitosan does not affect the great taste of food, beverage and supplements. Well-known contract manufacturers have recently worked on the development of new formulations with vegetal chitosan and for the first time ever they have actually managed to formulate it into innovative galenic forms.
How does KiOnutrime-Cs® work?
How does theoretically chitosan achieve the loss of fat mass? As regards the mechanism of action of chitosan, a recent study highlighted a combination of actions, which among others things, explains its superior efficacy:
As a fiber, chitosan can also produce a bulking effect that increases satiety.
Chitosan acts as a soluble fiber in the acidic environment of the stomach and interacts with dietary fats. When it goes through the small intestine, which is no longer acidic, chitosan becomes insoluble and forms a gel-like complex with bound fats and bile acids, which in turn leaves the fat indigestible. This insoluble complex passes undigested through the large intestine and is then naturally eliminated.
Furthermore, chitosan carries a positive charge, which enables the capture of negatively charged fatty and bile acids. A decrease in bile activity would indirectly reduce fat absorption.
Figure 1. Mechanism of action
KiOnutrime-Cs® is capable of binding up to 800 times its own weight in fat in vitro and it is 33% more efficient than the other fat-binders. This fat-binding power is guaranteed by KitoZyme as a specification through a pass/fail test that is realized on each batch.
Scientific & clinical evidence
The properties of KiOnutrime-Cs® are supported by performance studies and strongly documented by peer-reviewed articles.
Our strategy is based on the well-known efficacy of chitosan and the numerous studies that are already available - there are more than 40 clinical studies1 for weight management, all of which are significant in regard to weight loss and cholesterol control.
A recent Meta-analysis (Cochrane) included 15 randomized, double-blind, placebo-control studies on more than 640 patients. Moreover, our vegetal chitosan is a low molecular weight chitosan, which is more potent in terms of fat binding (more than 800 times its own weight in fat in vitro) and it dissolves faster. There is also an interesting human double blind controlled trial that was realized on a chitosan that was similar in many respect to our chitosan in terms of specification called “Efficacy and Safety of Chitosan HEP-40 in the Management of Hypercholesterolemia: A Randomized, Multicenter, Placebo-controlled Trial”2.
The lipophilic capacity has been demonstrated by an in vitro test, which was conducted according to a validated method published by SW. Rockway 1 (Pharmanutrients Inc., 2000). KiOnutrime-Cs® is able to bind up to 800 times its own weight in fat in vitro. This fat-binding power is guaranteed by KitoZyme as a specification through a pass/fail test that was realized on each batch. (see Figure 1)
Figure 1. Scheme of the in vitro fat binding capacity of KiOnutrime-Cs®
In addition, two innovative animal models that were conducted in collaboration with experts in the field of nutrition have confirmed the well-known effect of this vegetal chitosan on weight management. Furthermore, they also shed light on new benefits – including reduced cholesterol levels.
Professor Nathalie DELZENNE (Pharmacokinetic, Nutrition and Toxicology Unit - Louvain Catholic University, Belgium) studied the ability of vegetal chitosan to prevent weight gain and fat storage in a model using obese mice that were fed with a diet enriched in fats over the course of 10 weeks3. The main advantages of KiOnutrime-Cs® are its immediate efficiency, which is due to its low molecular weight and its superior capacity to reduce the absorption of fat during digestion. This vegetal chitosan is proven to prevent weight and fat regain by -40% (see Figure 2). It significantly lowers the accumulation of lipids in tissues such as the muscles (-66%) and liver (-66%), in turn having an overall positive impact on health and the silhouette.
Figure 2. KiOnutrime-Cs® prevents body weight gain
Supplemental to this, Professor Jean-Max ROUANET (U3762 Aliments & Santé - Montpellier 2 University, France) performed a 12-week study on 36 hamsters that were fed with an atherogenic diet to highlight the performance of vegetal chitosan on cholesterol management. Chitosan, supplemented at an equivalent dose of 3 grams per day for a 70kg human, has been proven to decrease blood cholesterol by -24%, blood triglycerides by -69% and blood LDL-cholesterol by -88% while HDL-cholesterol is highly increased by +223% (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. KiOnutrime-Cs® maintains a healthy cholesterol profile
Efficient at low dosages (from 1.5g to 3g per day), KiOnutrime-Cs® improves overall health and silhouette by reducing body fat mass, preventing weight and fat gain and by maintaining a healthy cholesterol profile.
2 Evaluating Efficacy of a Chitosan Product Using a Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Protocol, J Am Coll Nutr 25 (389) Kaats 2006
3 Neyrinck AM, Bindels LB, De Backer F, Pachikian B, Cani PD, Delzenne NM (2008) Dietary supplementation with chitosan derived from mushrooms changes adipocytokine profile in diet-induced obese mice, a phenomenon linked to its lipid-lowering action. Int Immunopharmacol 9 (767) Neyrinck 2009
Regulatory
In Europe, KiOnutrime-Cs® has been recognized as substantially equivalent to animal-based chitosan [European directive on Novel Food EC/258/97 art 3(4)] in terms of its composition, nutritional value and metabolism.
Moreover, in June 2011, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a series of evaluations regarding Article 13.1 “general function” health claims. These included a positive evaluation for vegetal chitosan and the maintenance of normal blood LDL-cholesterol. The evidence, which was a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that investigated the effects of chitosan consumption on blood lipids, was evaluated by the EFSA and showed a statistically significant reduction in total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations. It was concluded that a cause and effect relationship had been established between the consumption of chitosan and the maintenance of normal blood LDL-cholesterol concentrations. To obtain the claimed effect, 3g of vegetal chitosan should be consumed daily.
In the USA, KiOnutrime-Cs® is exempt from Novel Food procedure as it falls into the old dietary ingredient. Chitosan was listed for use as a dietary supplement ingredient before 1994 by the National Nutrition Foods Associations (Council of Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Utah Natural Products Association (UNPA) and National Herbal Products Association (NNFA)).
