Applications of Chitosan, an Eco-Friendly Biopolymer in Agricultural Systems, Herbal Products, and Functional Foods: A Review

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Adam

Chitosan, a biodegradable polysaccharide derived from N-deacetylated chitin, is highlighted for its unique cationic nature and multifunctional bioactivity. The review connects chitosan’s roles in sustainable agriculture and food systems—enhancing plant tolerance to abiotic stress and biotic challenges—with its use across paper, food processing and packaging, pharmaceuticals, biodiesel, and wastewater/environmental protection. Emphasis is placed on safety and performance drivers such as antifungal, antibacterial, antioxidant, biocompatible, and biodegradability traits, including the value of soluble derivatives in food processing, cosmetics, nano/biotechnology, environmental and textile production.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Chitin and chitosan sources

Chemical characteristics and functional groups

Industrial applications and food industry roles

Food Science & Nutrition ORIGINAL ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS Applications ofChitosan, an Eco-Friendly Biopolymer in Agricultural Systems, Herbal Products, and Functional Foods: A Review Saeedeh Karimlar1,2 | Abdollah Ghasemi Pirbalouti3 | Zahra Teymuori4 | Maryam Moslehishad5 | Zohreh Hamidi-Esfahani1 1Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran | 2Translational Ophthalmology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | 3Department of Food Science and Technology, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran | 4Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran | 5Department of Food Science and Technology, ShQ. C., Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Qods, Iran Correspondence: Maryam Moslehishad ([ma.moslehishad@iau.ac.ir](ma.moslehishad@iau.ac.ir)) Received: 1 August 2025 | Revised: 3 October 2025 | Accepted: 15 November 2025 Keywords: elicitor | food industry | medicinal and aromatic plants | organic foods | secondary metabolites ABSTRACT Chitin, the natural biopolymer of the world next to cellulose, is a modified biodegradable polysaccharide. Chitosan, as the major derivative of chitin, is the product of N-deacetylated chitin. Chitosan is an important biopolymer in nature and the only positively charged (cationic) polysaccharide. Chitosan has many utilizations in sustainable agriculture and food systems, in particular, improving plant resistance to environmental stresses like water deficit, salt, high temperature, cold, heavy metal, etc., as well as biotic stresses such as pest and plant pathogens. In addition, this natural biopolymer is used in different industries such as paper, food (processing, packaging, and preservation), pharmaceuticals, biodiesel, and other uses like wastewater treatment and environmental protection. Chitosan gained significant interest for its safety, antifungal, antibacterial, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and antioxidant activities due to its rich amino and hydroxyl groups. The commercial value of chitosan is due to the valuable properties of its soluble derivatives, which are suitable in food processing, cosmetics, nano and biotechnology, environmental, and textile production. In this review, we will consider the effectiveness of chitosan in the performance of agriculture, herbal products, nutraceuticals, and food systems, like improving biologically active compounds in herbal plants as elicitor; the characteristics of chitosan and chitosan-based biopolymers have been mentioned. 1 | Introduction Biopolymers as important macromolecules have been biosynthesized from living organisms such as plants, fungi, microbes, and animals, especially marine invertebrates and crustaceans. The main sources of chitin as a natural biopolymer and macromolecules can include insect biomass, algae, mushroom bodies, and microbial biomass (Ghasemi Pirbalouti et al. 2017) . After cellulose, the second most abundant biopolymer in nature is the chitin that is extracted from crabs, shrimp, lobsters, and oysters (Hajji et al. 2022). Indeed, the shells and other unpalatable parts of these crustaceans, accounting for approximately half of their body mass, are often discarded waste (Kumar et al. 2019) as an important source of chitin. For example, chitin and its derivatives were found in the cell walls of four types of fungi including Basidiomycetes, Ascomycetes, Zygomycetes, and Deuteromycetes (Crognale et al. 2022) . In addition, this biopolymer can also be found in plants. For instance, the content of chitin in the fruits This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2026 The Author(s). Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Food Science & Nutrition, 2026; 14:e71367

FAQs

What is chitosan and how is it related to chitin?

Chitosan is the major derivative of chitin produced through N-deacetylation. It is a biodegradable polysaccharide with a positively charged (cationic) character.

How does chitosan support sustainable agriculture and food systems?

Chitosan is used to improve plant resistance to environmental stresses such as water deficit, salinity, and temperature extremes, as well as biotic stresses like pests and plant pathogens.

Which industries and applications are mentioned for chitosan?

Applications include food processing (processing, packaging, preservation), pharmaceuticals, paper, cosmetics, biodiesel, and wastewater treatment/environmental protection. In food, it is noted for antibacterial and antifungal preservation effects.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Adam