A Hard Capsule Made of Chitosan was Shown to Disintegrate in Colon

Abstract

Chitosan is a food ingredient recognized as safe, which is produced by deacetylation of aminoacetyl residue in chitin contained in the shells of crabs and shrimps. Chitosan is not digested in the stomach or intestine, but is degraded and digested in the colon by indigenous bacteria such as Bacteroides. A hard capsule made of chitosan was developed to deliver substances to the colon avoiding digestive enzymes in the stomach and intestines. Whether or not the capsule disintegrates in the colon has not yet been tested in humans. In this experiment, a chitosan capsule containing barium sulfate was ingested by healthy male volunteers, and the fate of the capsule was monitored by chronological abdominal radiography. The capsule was shown to disintegrate in the ascending and transverse colon.