Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Chitooligosaccharides in Vivo

• Main Authors: João C. Fernandes, Humberto Spindola, Vanessa de Sousa, Alice Santos-Silva, Manuela E. Pintado, Francisco Xavier Malcata, João E. Carvalho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2010-05-01
• Series: Marine Drugs
• Subjects: chitooligosaccharides; anti-inflammatory; animal model
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1763/

All the reports to date on the anti-inflammatory activity of chitooligosaccharides (COS) are mostly based on in vitro methods. In this work, the anti-inflammatory activity of two COS mixtures is characterized in vivo (using balb/c mice), following the carrageenan-induced paw edema method. This is a widely accepted animal model of acute inflammation to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of drugs. Our data suggest that COS possess anti-inflammatoryactivity, which is dependent on dose and, at higher doses, also on the molecular weight. A single dose of 500 mg/kg b.w. weight may be suitable to treat acute inflammation cases; however, further studies are needed to ascertain the effect upon longer inflammation periods as well as studies upon the bioavailability of these compounds.