β-Glucan is a valuable functional ingredient and various extraction techniques are available for its extraction. Choice of an appropriate extraction technique is important as it may affect the quality, structure, rheological properties, molecular weight, and other functional properties of the extracted β-glucan. These properties lead to the use of β-glucan into various food systems and have imp...

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that poses a serious threat to immunocompromised patients. Candida’s greatest mechanism of defense against the host immune system is its cell wall. It has been shown that chitin, a component of Candida’s cell wall, is synthesized during cellular stress. We investigated the temporal dynamics of chitin deposition during immune attack by perform...

Mushroom β-glucan has the ability to affect many cellular functions, including cellular glucose uptake. Although cumulative evidence in literature suggests a connection between β-glucan and reduction of blood glucose concentration, a mechanism of how β-glucan affects cellular glucose uptake has not been demonstrated. In this study, we analyzed the effect of β-glucan containing polysaccharide ex...

Water-insoluble (particulate) β-glucan was isolated from the cell walls of spent brewer’s yeast using a single-step alkaline treatment. To stabilize β-glucan water suspensions, sonication was successfully applied. Th ree diff erent drying methods were used: air-drying, lyophilization and spray-drying. Air-drying and lyophilization caused β-glucan particles agglomeration and changes of their mic...

UNLABELLED Effect of oat β-glucan on the fermentation of set-style yogurt was investigated by incorporating 0%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.5% of purified oat β-glucan into the yogurt mix. It was found that levels up to 0.3% resulted in yogurts with quality characteristics similar to the control yogurt. Higher levels of β-glucan however retarded the fermentation process with noticeable differ...

The isothermal phase behaviour at 5 °C of mixtures of sodium caseinate and oat β-glucan isolates varying in molecular weight (MW) was investigated by means of phase diagram construction, rheometry, fluorescence microscopy and electrophoresis. Phase diagrams indicated that the compatibility of the β-glucan/sodium caseinate system increases as β-glucan MW decreases. Images of mixtures taken at va...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the monthly variation in the airborne (1→3)-β-D-glucan level throughout one year and its relationship with climatic factors (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, hours of daylight, cloud cover, and pollen counts). METHODS A total of 106 samples were collected using a two-stage cyclone sampler at five outdoor sampling locations (on top of 5 university buildings). ...

RATIONALE To prevent or combat infection, increasing the effectiveness of the immune response is highly desirable, especially in case of compromised immune system function. However, immunostimulatory therapies are scarce, expensive, and often have unwanted side-effects. β-glucans have been shown to exert immunostimulatory effects in vitro and in vivo in experimental animal models. Oral β-glucan...

We conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover pilot study to investigate the effect of oat betaglucans (β-glucan) on glycaemic control and variability in adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D; n = 14). Stomacol® tablets (1.53 g of β-glucan) or placebo (Plac) were administered three times daily before meals for two weeks. Glucose levels were monitored during the second week by continuous g...

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of β-glucan supplementation on pig performance and immune function. In Exp. 1, 100 weaned pigs (8.65 ± 0.42 kg of BW and 28 ± 2 d of age) were used in a 35-d experiment to determine the effects of graded levels of β-glucan. Pigs were randomly allotted to 1 of 5 treatments containing β-glucan supplemented at 0, 25, 50, 100, or 200 ppm. ...