Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Chitosan reduces total cholesterol by approximately 5% but has inconsistent effects on LDL-C, HDL-C, and triglycerides, with limited long-term efficacy data.
Chitosan may lower total cholesterol slightly, but it does not reliably lower LDL-C. Given its inconsistent effects and potential for gastrointestinal side effects, it is not a first-line supplement for lipid management.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
A meta-analysis of 6 RCTs that included 416 patients with hypercholesterolemia concluded that it has a significant effect on TC (-0.3 mmol/L [11.6 mg/dL]; P = 0.002) but not on LDL-C, HDL-C, or TGs.
Why this rating
Based on meta-analysis of RCTs, but results are conflicting and long-term data is lacking.
Source
Lipid-lowering nutraceuticals in clinical practice: position paper from an International Lipid Expert Panel
Arrigo F.G. Cicero et al. · Nutrition Reviews · 2017
DOI 10.1093/nutrit/nux047
clinical_guidelineCited 286×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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