What Are Chitin And Chitosan

Chitin is one of the most abundant aminopolysaccharide polymers in nature. It’s the material that helps to strengthen the exoskeletons of insects, crustaceans, and also the cell walls of fungi. When chitin undergoes chemical or enzymatic deacetylation, it converts to chitosan, the most well-known derivative of chitin. Chitin is used for a wide variety of health benefits, and chitosan is often used as a filler in tablets. Today we’re going to take a deeper look into how chitin works, how is chitin made, and the top chitin benefits.

Chitin function | Chitin fungi | Chitin cell wall

Chitosan meaning | What is chitosan made of?

What is chitin used for? | What is chitosan used for?

Chitin function

When looking at what is chitin in biology, you’ll find that it’s part of the cell walls of fungi and found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans, arthropods, and insects. In fish, it’s part of their scales. A frequently asked question is where chitin is found in fungi. It is found in the structural membrane and cell walls of spores, stems and mycelia.

In insects, it acts as a sort of scaffolding, supporting the epidermis and tracheas. Similar to keratin and cellulose, chitin is a structural polymer. It strengthens any structure it is present in and is made from glucose monomers. The structure of chitin means it can be very hard when it is combined with various compounds. Chitin is incredibly adaptable, and with arthropods, it has evolved into millions of different forms.

Chitin Fungi

A chitin cell wall is created in fungi and offers a very similar function to cellulose in plants. You’ll find chitin in fungi alongside other molecules and proteins, which offers fungi a rigid cell wall and allows the organism to retain its shape. Water can remain in the cells to create pressure against the cell wall, in a similar manner that’s witnessed in plant cells. This helps to strengthen each cell and is known as turgor pressure. Thanks to this pressure, fungi can push against leaf litter when they are growing, even if there are many different layers to get through. The strength of chitin bacteria helps to push past a few pounds of weight and allows the fungi to continue growing.

Chitin Cell Wall

The chitin biology definition we shared above discusses how chitin is a critical part of the cell wall for fungi. While cell walls aren’t only found in plants and fungi, chitin is only used in the cell walls of fungi. Other plants have cell walls made from cellulose, and bacteria’s cell walls are created from peptidoglycan. All of these are reasonably similar in their construction, as they are made with carbohydrate molecules known as polysaccharides. The chitin cell wall allows the plant to survive longer than it would be possible otherwise and helps it to tolerate hot and cold weather and periods of minimal water. Fungi are very resistant to droughts, thanks to this rigid cell wall made from chitin. Chitin extraction and research have allowed scientists to learn more about where chitin is found in fungi.

Chitosan Meaning

As we mentioned earlier, when chitin undergoes chemical or enzymatic deacetylation, it is converted into chitosan. Chitosan is a sugar that’s extracted from the skeleton of shellfish, most commonly from crab, shrimp, and lobster. The chitosan meaning and its production process mean it offers various benefits, including chitin health benefits. It’s often used to treat high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, wounds, and other conditions. However, research is very much still in the early stages regarding chitin function and chitin examples of health benefits. Another reason is that it’s beeing used today in the pharmaceutical industry as a filler during the manufacturing process. It helps to make some drugs dissolve more easily and also can mask the bitter taste associated with some medications.

Another reason people today have become interested in how chitosan works is that it is believed to boost fat loss. The claims on these supplements state that the substance binds to the fat in your body, which increases your execration. When taken regularly, it will reduce the fat storage in your body, but the chitin extraction benefits still need a lot more development and research. Scientists have also researched more into lowering cholesterol levels, reducing total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. However, there have been conflicting results in this area that still need further investigation before it becomes a mainstream offering.

What is Chitosan Made Of?

Chitosan is made of chitin enzyme. But as opposed to using fungi or other organisms it may be found in, it’s primarily extracted from insects and crustaceans. Shrimp, clams, and lobsters are commonly used for chitosan supplements. While it’s then usually made into a supplement or capsule, it can also be added to a gel. One commonly cited reason for using chitosan is that it can help wounds heal quicker, which would be achieved with a chitosan gel. It is important to remember that the chitin definition and chitosan definition are different. The chitosan must be taken from chitin in the first place. If you are wondering where to buy chitosan, you’ll find that supplements are readily available today on the market, but you’ll want to ensure you choose a reliable supplier for the best results.

Chitin is an essential part of many organisms. In particular, holds a crucial function for the cell walls of fungi. When it’s extracted to create chitosan, it can offer a wide range of benefits, but many of these still need to be researched further. It’s an incredibly adaptable aminopolysaccharide polymer and is the most abundant one in nature. Due to its strength when it forms chains with other molecules, it helps fungi continue to grow and protects organisms from harm. Before adding chitosan to your diet, ensure you check the potential side effects and undertake further research about its benefits and uses to potentially improve your health. While it offers many great benefits to fungi and creatures in the world around us, we hope to see health benefits and products offered to consumers in future years.

What is Chitin Used for?

While chitin is primarily used as the structural material for the organisms which we’ve discussed earlier and the fungi cell wall, it also has various other uses. As far as its use within different creatures, you’ll find it creates the teeth of molluscs and also the beaks of cephalopods. Within fish and some amphibians, it forms their scales. Chitin can be sprayed on a wide variety of plants and helps to protect them from diseases. It’s used within agriculture as a fertilizer and defends plants from pests that could otherwise quickly destroy a whole crop. The reason chitin is so effective for this use is that plants have immune receptors which are activated when chitin is sprayed on them. These receptors then release hormones that encourage the immune response from the plants.

Chitin for human consumption

Moving away from plants and animals, chitin offers a wide range of uses for humans. Humans don’t naturally produce chitin, because we have an enzyme present in our gastric juice called chitinase, which degrades chitin when it enters the body. When chitin is consumed, the lungs, digestive tract, and skin sense the chitin, which helps to initiate an immune response in the body. Chitin is often used for this reason to protect individuals against parasites. For anyone who suffers from a shellfish or dust mite allergy, this is generally due to being allergic to chitin.

Chitin is also used as a vaccine adjuvant. An adjuvant is added so that less of a vaccine is needed to stimulate the immune response. Chitin is used within the medical industry and can be added to surgical thread and bandages to strengthen these tools. On top of this, chitin is an excellent strengthening material for the paper manufacturing industry. Finally, chitin is used to improve the flavor of food and also as an emulsifier. Individuals may want to consume chitin due to its anti-inflammatory benefits, which are believed to reduce cholesterol and speed up weight loss.

What is Chitosan Used for?

Just like chitin, chitosan has a wide selection of commercial and medical uses. Similar to chitin, it can be used as a vaccine adjuvant to help stimulate the immune response. Another important medical use for chitosan is within bandages. The reason it’s placed within the bandage is to help minimize bleeding and to act as an antibacterial agent, however it can also be used as a way of delivering drugs through the skin. It’s been approved for medical use in the US since 2003 and is often used on burns. Another medical use for chitosan is to decrease bacteria and fungus growth, which is critical to minimize the chance of infection spreading.

As well as its medical uses, chitosan is used within agriculture as a biopesticide and seed treatment. It also helps to fight off fungal infections in plants, saving crops from ruin. Within winemaking, it can be added to wine in order to reduce spoilage and as a fining agent. Chitosan has been used for many years for this reason and helps to increase the settling activity and remove any copper that may be present in the product.

Advantages of chitosan

Within other industries, chitosan has a wide variety of advantages. It can be used to create self-healing polyurethane paint coating and is also included in the production of biodegradable plastic. On top of that, chitosan has been part of endless research projects to help improve medical devices and nanomaterials. It’s even believed that it could help with bone formation due to its high level of biocompatibility.

Finally, as far as human consumption, chitosan is often marketed as a fat binder. It’s believed to lower cholesterol levels and decrease body weight, as chitin does. However, further research into this area still needs to be completed in the future, and the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it yet in the US for this use.