BACKGROUND Fungal β-(1,3)-glucans are pro-inflammatory agents, and exposures to β-(1,3)-glucans are associated with respiratory tract symptoms. IgG anti-(1,3)-glucan titers are measured in diagnosis of fungal infections. Although other β-glucan structures exist, like β-(1,6)-glucans, little is known about their antigenic or pro-inflammatory properties. We aimed to investigate IgG titers and spe...

In this study we investigated the effect of beta-glucan derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae on fungicidal activity, cytokine production and natural killer activity. Spleen and peritoneal cells from female C57BL/6 mice, previously injected (24 or 48 h) with 20 or 100 microg of glucan by i.p. route, were assayed. In vivo beta-glucan administration primed spleen cells for a higher production of ...

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...

Glucans were isolated from the cell wall of the yeast (Y) and mycelial (M) forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The alkali-soluble glucan of the Y form had properties of alpha-1,3-glucan. The alkali-insoluble glucan of the M form was identified as a beta-glucan which contains a beta-(1 --> 3)-glycosidic linkage by infrared absorption spectrum, by effect of beta-1,3-glucanase, and by partial ...

Yeast glucan as normally prepared by various treatments of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cell walls to remove mannan and glycogen is still heterogeneous. The major component (about 85 %) is a branched fi-(1 -+3)-glucan of high molecular weight (about 240000) containing 3% of f-(1 -÷6)-glucosidic interchain linkages. The minor component is a branched ,-(I -÷6)-glucan. A comparison of our resu...

Glutaraldehyde-crosslinked α-casein polymers with molecular masses of 1-5×10(5) were found to inhibit adhesive insoluble glucan formation catalyzed by glucan synthases from Streptococcus sobrinus B13, a cariogenic oral bacterium. Of the three subcomponents of the glucan synthases tested, primer-dependent insoluble glucan synthase was inhibited specifically by the M r~2.7×10(5) polymer at a conc...

Members of the genus LactobacilZus were examined for their ability to synthesize extracellular polysaccharide from sucrose. Strains physiologically similar to L. pastorianus synthesized a glucan. Other strains liberated a complex polysaccharide which contained mannose and glucose. Variants of the glucan-producing strains occurred spontaneously and these lacked the capacity to synthesize glucan ...

Production of ?-glucan is mainly used for cancer therapy. The most well-known are those occur in fungal grains such as cereal and other micro-organisms. The most important beta glucan from a nutritional and ingredient standpoint is that derived from fungal grain. Optimization of medium ingredients for the production of mycelial ?-glucan from lower fungi in submerged fermentation and antioxidant...

conclusions while bdg assay seems to be a sensitive and specific adjunctive tool to diagnose and monitor the experimental systemic candidiasis, it seems that measuring the positive cutoff value in different laboratory conditions is necessary for favorable establishment of these tests. results all the infected rats were positive with bdg tests. an increasing level of bdg was observed during earl...

Periplasmic and extracellular glucans of Mesorhizobium huakuii were isolated and characterized by compositional and MALDI-TOF analyses, as well as H and C NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that M. huakuii produces a cyclic -glucan composed entirely of nonbranched glucose chains and unmodified by nonsugar substituents. The degree of polymerisation of the cyclic oligosaccharides was estimated to be ...