BMS Seminar - Effect of chitosan and lifestyle on health and gut microbiota

BMC Seminar Thursday 4th of December at 12:00 - 13:00 in Askja, room N-132

Speaker: Thelma Rún Rúnarsdóttir, PhD student in health sciences supervised by Marta Guðjónsdóttir, University of Iceland

Title: Effect of chitosan supplementation and lifestyle changes on health and gut microbiota in Icelandic females

Abstract:

Objective: To examine the effects of shrimp chitosan supplementation with or without lifestyle changes on the gut microbiota and anthropometric variables in Icelandic females stratified by body mass index (BMI) (30-55 and 18-35).

Methods: In this study, 93 Icelandic females aged 26-70 years participated. A group of 33 participants (patients), with a mean BMI of 39.9 ± 5.9 kg/m2, enrolled in rehabilitation and actively undergoing lifestyle changes, were randomly assigned to receive a daily dose of 3 g of encapsulated chitosan (LipoSan Ultra®) (LCTRG = 18) or placebo (LCPLG = 15) for 12-weeks. Additionally, a control group of 60 participants with a mean BMI of 26.1 ± 3.6 kg/m2 instructed to maintain their current lifestyle, was also randomly assigned to CTRG (N = 28) or CPLG (N = 32). Faecal samples, anthropometric data and blood biomarkers were collected at baseline and after the 12-weeks supplementation period. 

Results: Partial 16S rRNA amplification sequencing analyses revealed that at baseline, alpha diversity indices (Observed, Chao1, Shannon and Simpson), were statistically lower in the patient’s group compared to the controls. Additionally, the Firmicutes/Bacteroides ratio (F/B ratio) was higher in the control group at baseline. After 12-weeks of shrimp chitosan supplementation, alpha diversity (Shannon and Simpson) statistically decreased in the CTRG, along with an increased separation over time (T1-T3) based on non-metric multidimensional scaling. In the LCTRG, only the Simpson index decreased. A differential abundance analysis using ANCOM-BC2 revealed changes in bacterial abundance at both phylum and genus levels exclusively in the CTRG. Furthermore, chitosan did not affect body weight or composition, although body composition did change in females with obesity primarily doe to lifestyle changes.

Conclusion: The results indicate that shrimp shell chitosan supplementation alters the composition and function of the gut microbiota primarily in normal and slightly overweight individuals but in less extent in individuals with obesity. However, 12 weeks supplementation might not be sufficient time to detect changes in health status.

Speaker bio:

Thelma Rún Rúnarsdóttir holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Nutrition from the University of Iceland, with a specialization in sports nutrition. Her master‘s research, conducted at Umeå University in Sweden, focused on the prevalence of iron deficiency in athletes. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Sciences at the University of Iceland, where her research explores the effects of chitosan supplementation, with and without lifestyle changes, on gut microbiota and various health factors among Icelandic females. Alongside her academic work, she works fulltime as a nutritionist at Reykjalundur Rehabilitation Center.