키토산의 섭취가 에탄올을 급여한 흰쥐의 콜레스테롤농도 및 간조직 형태에 미치는 영향

This study was designed to determine the effect of chitosan on in vivo lipid metabolism in male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with ethanol. Rats were divided into four groups and reared for 6 weeks: E group (35% of total calories from ethanol), EC Ⅰ group (ethanol + 0.5% of chitosan), EC Ⅱ group (ethanol + 1% of chitosan) and control group (dextrin as much as ethanol treated). The levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), GOT and GPT in plasma, and triglyceride (TG) in liver were remarkably increased in the rats treated with ethanol. However, the treatment of 1% chitosan significantly lowered those parameter levels. In particular the values of r-HDL (the ratio of HDL-C to TC) in the rats fed in combination with ethanol and chitosan were relatively higher than that of the E group. The increased lipid droplets were observed in the hepatocytes of the rats treated with ethanol, but chitosan treatment reduced in the number and the size of the lipid droplets. These results suggest that chitosan improve in vivo lipid metabolism and potentially protect hepatotoxicity of the rat liver treated with ethanol.