Overview on Chitosan as a valuable ingredient and biostimulant in pharmaceutical industries and agricultural products

Abstract

Chitosan is a polysaccharide extracted from the shells of crustaceans, such as shrimp, crab, and cell walls of fungi. Chitosan is formed from chitin, a co-polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and D-glucosamine, when over 80% of the acetyl groups of the N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues are removed. Chitosan and its derivatives have been shown to possess diverse biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-hypertensive, anti-coagulant, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-cancer. Chitosan has been studied in recent years as a natural agrochemical biostimulant for applications in areas such as seed coating, preservation of fruits and vegetables, fungicides, growth biostimulants, elicitors, inducer of resistance to pathogens, etc. Chitosan as a biostimulant has biological properties and effective uses in the pharmaceutical industries, food industries, and agricultural products. This paper is a brief review on characterization, modification, and applications of chitosan.

Keywords

• Chitosan
• Biological activity
• Pharmacological application
• Natural biostimulant