the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown . this invention , may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . in accordance with the present invention , there is provided chitosan oligosaccharides with anti - inflammatory properties . the expression “ anti - inflammatory properties ” means a process allowing chitosan oligosaccharides to minimize or reduce inflammatory responses . a composition in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is provided for administration in treating the inflammation and irritation of certain organs , such as for example , but not limited to , gut , intestine , skin and others . the composition is particularly effective in treating inflammation resulting from , chronic , non - responsive allergic physiological reaction . still for example , the physiological reaction that can be prevented or treated with the composition of the present invention and containing chitosan oligosaccharides , may include acquired or induced dermatitis , colitis , joint inflammation , skin or mucosal inflammation , sunburn , or chrohn &# 39 ; s disease according to the present invention , chitosan oligosaccharides should have a degree of deacetylation varying between 50 % to 100 %, but preferably between 75 % and 100 %. thus , the invention more particularly relates to deacetylated chitosan oligosaccharides with a low molecular weight . the expression “ low molecular weight ” means chitosan oligosaccharides with a molecular weight less than about 10 000 da and preferably less than about 5000 da . most preferentially , the weight of chitosan oligomers can be less than 2000 da . according to the present invention , the chitosan oligosaccharides may be prepared and / or obtained by any appropriate process known by one skilled in the art . they may be obtained by the enzymatic method described in the u . s . pat . no . 5 , 482 , 843 and by the chemical method described by horowitz , roseman and blumenthal ( j , amer . chem . soc ., 1957 , 79 , 5046 - 5049 ). the invention also describes uses of chitosan oligosaccharides according to the present invention for the preparation of therapeutic and cosmetic compositions . therefore , the composition also relates to therapeutic and cosmetic compositions with chitosan oligosaccharides with anti - inflammatory properties such as described below and a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle . in accordance with the present invention , there is provided a composition comprising , in addition to chitosan oligomers , other polysaccharides , such as but not limited to , glycosarnoglycan ( gag ) components ( glucosamine , n - acetyl - glucosamine , galactosamine , n - acetyl - galactosamine , glucuronate , iduronate , galactose ), which can be extracted from biopolymers ( such as chitin , chitosan , chondroitin , dermatan , keratan , heparin , hyaluronan ). the oligosaccharide of the composition is easily absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and uptaken through the circulatory system . the oligomers of chitosan oligosaccharides provide an advantage as being the delivery vehicle for sustained release of gag components . another advantage is that the oligomers of monosaccharides are metabolized more slowly compared to the monomers of monosaccharides . in this regard , the uptake of the raw components is reduced since the metabolic losses through urine , feces , breath and perspiration is less significant . there are multiple enzyme activities in the body fluids that can biodegrade the oligomers of monosaccharides and provide a sustained release format for monomers to the different connective tissues and articular cartilage . the molecular ranges and sizes of the molecule uptake are important for the bioavailability and delivery kinetics . in one embodiment of the present invention , there is provided a method for preventing or treating all forms of inflammation by the delivery into organisms monomers of nag and / or gs by the administration of short tandems containing between 2 to 50 units of nag , monosaccharides , and / or gs in different proportions . it is intended with the invention to obtain targeted physiological effects by administering selected length of tandems of monosaccharides . preferably , the chitosan oligomers of the present invention comprise between about 2 to 50 units of saccharide , and most preferentially between 2 to 25 units of saccharide . these compositions can favorably help preventing or treating inflammatory diseases , such as those mentioned before . the preparation and administration methods of the compositions of the present invention are not described in detail because these are already known by one skilled in the art . it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the composition of the present invention containing partially or completely deacetylated chitosan oligomers or oligosaccharides can be administered as known by different ways , such as , for example , by oral , intradermal , intravenous , intranasal , subcutaneous , or topical administration . it will also be recognized that the chitosan oligomers or oligosaccharides can be delivered under several forms , such as , but not limited to , pills , gels , creams , sprays , in aqueous solution , or others . for example , the composition containing chitosan oligosaccharides can be under the form of a cream , where they are mixed with emollients and other useful products in cosmetic and skin cares . the present invention will be more readily understood by referring to the following examples which are given to illustrate the invention rather than to limit its scope . the objectives of the present study are to evaluate the anti - inflammatory effects of two chitosan oligosaccharides ( 90d and 90e samples ) according to the present invention , and , more particularly on prostaglandin e 2 ( pge 2 ) and il1β release by nctc human keratinocytes under a uvb irradiation . note : two experiments were successively realized . both experiments showed a very low induction stimulation of the sought markers following an infra - cytotoxic irradiation ( 250 mj / cm 2 uvb ). in the second experiment , a stimulation trial by the pro - inflammatory agent “ pma ” was realized . human keratinocytes were cultured in mem / m199 ( gibco 31570021 / 2115130 ) culture medium 3 : 1 , mixed with 1 , 87 mg / ml sodium bicarbonate ( gibco 25080060 ), 2 mm l - glutamine ( gibco 25030024 ), 50 μl / ml penicillin ( polyabo 60703 ), and 10 % fetal veal serum ( v / v gibco 10106151 ). cell culture was performed at 37 ° c ., in 5 % co 2 atmosphere . deacetylation 90 % average molecular weight 700 da stock solution 25 mg / ml solution dilutions in culture medium tested final concentrations 250 μg / ml ; 100 μg / ml ; 10 μg / ml deacetylation 90 % average molecular weight 1400 da stock solution 25 mg / ml solution dilutions in culture medium tested final concentrations 250 μg / ml ; 100 μg / ml ; 10 μg / ml reference 1 ( pge 2 induction ): indomethacin ( sigma 17378 ), tested at 1 μm ( final ) reference 2 ( il1β induction ): dexamethazone ( sigma d1756 ), tested at 0 . 1 μm ( final ) the treatments were realized in triplicate , with 6 plates , 96 identical wells after a 24 - hour preculture . plate 1 : no stimulation , pge 2 assay ( mtt viability ) plate 2 : uv stimulation , pge 2 assay ( mtt viability ) plate 3 : pma stimulation , pge 2 assay ( mtt viability ) plate 4 : no stimulation , il1β assay ( mtt viability ) plate 5 : uv stimulation , il1β assay ( mtt viability ) plate 6 : pma stimulation , il1β assay ( mtt viability ) the cells were cultured in presence of the products for a period of 24 hours . after the washout , the mediums were replaced by ebss ( buffered saline solution , gibco ) and were irradiated or not by 250 mj / cm 2 uvb ( sol500 lamp , h2 filter ) vilber - lourmat radiometer , lamp calibrated just before exposition ). other plates were kept in the dark . non - irradiated cultures were treated by a medium containing the products , with or without pma ( 1 μg / ml phorbol , 12 - myristate 13 - acetate , sigma p1585 ). after a culture of 24 hours , the cellular layer was observed and mediums collected and frozen . the cellular viability was evaluated by quantitation of the metabolic activity of cells ( mitochondrial dehydrogenase ) by hydrolysis measurement of mtt . after thawing and centrifugation of the mediums , the content in pge 2 was measured in elisa with a r & amp ; d systems kit ( de0100 ), according to the recommended protocol of the supplier . the il1β content was measured in elisa with a immunotech kit ( 1042 ), according to the recommended protocol of the supplier . the raw data were transformed and treated by the software prisms ( graph pad software ). the intergroup comparisons were realized by analysis of variance ( anova ), with the multiple comparison test dunnett . the viability measures (%, mtt test ) are reported in the tables . uv irradiation did not significantly reduce the cellular viability . the 250 mj / cm 2 uvb irradiation used was determined as only being infra - cytotoxic in experimental conditions ( viability reduction of less than 10 %). also , cells treatment with pma did not significantly modify the viability . in any conditions , the 90d and 90e products did not significantly modify the cellular viability . table 1 illustrates the effects of different treatments on the pge 2 release in the non - treated or treated mediums by the uv or pma . a low pge 2 quantity ( 10 pg / ml ) was present in control medium at the end of the experiment . this low concentration leads to the fluctuation of measures and to non - significant statistic analysis . the indomethacin treatment has apparently totally blocked the production / release of this basal level . the uv stimulated the pge 2 production with a factor 3 ; the values remaining low and standard deviations high . the different tested products apparently had a global trend to reduce pge 2 release . pma treatment , as anticipated , highly stimulated pge 2 release . thus , the results are highly reproducible and internal variability very low . the indomethacin cyclooxygenase inhibitor totally blocked the pge 2 production / release . the 90d and 90e products have slightly reduced the pge 2 release induced by pma ( 86 - 97 % of control pma ). because of the high pge 2 quantity and of the low variability of results , this leads to confirm the observed effect during uv stimulation . the uv did not lead to a significant release ( measurable ) of il1β . the lw dose used was maximal in terms of limit of effect on cellular viability . these results confirm the results of a first experiment realized with lower uv doses . uv cannot apparently release nctc keratinocytes of il1β , in these experimental conditions . following this unsuccessful attempt , a trial of secretion stimulation of il1β by the pma was initiated . pma treatment stimulated the il1β release , since this cytokine was detectable in supernatants of treated cells . however , the il 1β concentration was very low ( 3 pg / mnl ) and the stimulation was then very different to the one observed for pge 2 . the 90d and 90e products reduced the il1β release induced by the pma without net dose - effect . while the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications and this application is intended to cover any variations , uses , or adaptations of the invention following , in general , the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth , and as follows in the scope of the appended claims .
the present invention is directed towards compositions and methods for reducing or controlling inflammation and for treating inflammatory disease processes and other pathological conditions . the present invention relates to mixtures comprising at least on oligosaccharide of chitosan or a component thereof as novel pharmaceuticals , dietary supplements or cosmetic compositions containing such mixtures , and to the use of such mixtures for preparing a medicament or a dietary supplement for the suppression hypersensitivity and / or inflammatory reaction in human and animals .