@article{CAI2026, 
author = {Haizhu CAI and Jing CHEN and Guoyun ZHANG and Shanshan ZHENG and Haili QIN and Rong HE and Bingbing SONG and Saiyi ZHONG},
title = {Hypolipidemic Activity of κ-Carrageenans of Different Molecular Masses in Mice Fed High-Fat Diet},
year = {2026},
journal = {Food Science},
volume = {47},
number = {8},
pages = {240-249},
keywords = {κ-carrageenan, low molecular mass, lipid-lowering, high fat-induced obesity},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.7506/spkx1002-6630-20251003-003},
doi = {10.7506/spkx1002-6630-20251003-003},
abstract = {In this study, the lipid-lowering effects of κ-carrageenans with different molecular masses (5.2, 15.5 and 36.2 kDa), prepared using a photocatalytic degradation method, were compared in a mouse model of obesity induced by a high-fat diet. Body mass, epididymal fat mass, oral glucose tolerance, four serum lipid parameters (triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)), inflammatory factors (interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)), hepatic lipid content, and pathomorphological changes in the liver, colon, and adipose tissue of mice were measured. The results indicated that all degraded κ-carrageenans exhibited lipid-lowering activity in a molecular mass-dependent manner. Among these, the 15.5 kDa κ-carrageenan demonstrated the most pronounced lipid-lowering effect. It significantly inhibited body mass gain and epididymal fat accumulation in high-fat diet-fed mice (P < 0.05) and alleviated impaired glucose tolerance, effectively regulating blood lipid levels, reducing serum TC, TG and LDL-C by 12.40%, 8.74%, and 5.02% respectively, whilst significantly increasing HDL-C levels by 11.34%. Additionally, it significantly reduced serum levels of the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and effectively alleviated hepatic steatosis. This study revealed that the lipid-lowering activity of κ-carrageenan is closely related to its molecular mass, but does not simply increase as its molecular mass decreases. This study provides new experimental evidence for an in-depth understanding of the biological activity of κ-carrageenan, and offers new data support and theoretical references for the development of κ-carrageenan-based functional foods with specific molecular mass characteristics.}
}