Fish products and Byproducts Technology

Unit 11 - Chitin and Chitosan

11.4. Uses of Chitin and Chitosan
Chitin and chitosan have been successfully used as food wraps due to their film forming properties. Chitosan has been widely used in vastly diverse fields, ranging from waste management to food processing, medicine and biotechnology. It becomes an interesting material in pharmaceutical applications due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility, and low toxicity.

• As clarifying agent of food juices and in purification of drinking water
• Thickening and stabilizing agent in food
• Treatment of waste and sewage water
• In cosmetics as a moisturizer and for protection against UV rays
• As a base for chromatography
• As a haemostatic agent in surgery and dentistry
• In fiber, films and membranes
• Important characteristic of chitosan films is these films are tough, long-lasting, flexible and very difficult to tear.
• Chitosan coating offers a great advantage in preventing microbial surface growth on foods. It would allow the inhibition of development of Listeria monocytogenes while being a biopackaging.
• Chitosan has found wide applicability in conventional pharmaceutical devices as a potential formulation excipient.
• The use of chitosan in novel drug delivery as mucoadhesive, peptide and gene delivery, as well as oral enhancer have been reported in the literature.
• Chitosan exhibits myriad biological actions such as hypocholesterolemic, antimicrobial, and wound healing properties.
• Since chitosan is a new substance, it is important to carry out precise standardization for its pharmaceutical and biomedical applications like other auxiliary substances.