Faecal fat excretion of mice (Rattus norvegicus, Wistar), submitted to hypercholesterolemic and hyperlipidic diets supplemented with chitosan

Abstract

The effect of two comercial brands of chitosan in the faecal fat excretion was investigated in mice submitted to hypercholesterolemic and hyperlipidic diets. 32 rats Wistar, recently weaned, distributed randomly in four groups (n=8): control group (CG), received diet of AIN93G; hyperlipidic group (HG): diet of AIN-93G modified in the lipids content (12%) and supplemented with cholesterol (1%); and the chitosan hyperlipidic groups 1 (QHG1) and chitosan hyperlipidic 2 (QHG2), that received the same diet of the HG, supplemented with their respective chitosan (5%). The faecal collection was conducted on the days 0, 14th and 28th of the experiment. The faecal fat determination (g) was conducted through the Soxhlet method. No significant statistical differences (p>;0.05) were observed among the 4 groups as to the fat content in the beginning of the experiment. On the 14th day, the GHQ1 group had a significant increase of faecal fat when compared to the other three groups (p<0.05). On the 28th day, in the GHQ1 group, the faecal fat excretion was larger than in the other groups (p<0.05), while the group GHQ2 had not statistically differed from the group GH. The results suggest that the differences between these two groups can be caused by the purity degree, viscosity and deacetylation degree of the chitosans.