β-1,3-Glucan and chitin are the most prominent polysaccharides of the fungal cell wall. Covalently linked, these polymers form a scaffold that determines the form and properties of vegetative and pathogenic hyphae. While the role of chitin in plant infection is well understood, the role of β-1,3-glucan is unknown. We functionally characterized the β-1,3-glucan synthase gene GLS1 of the maize (Z...

Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), a foremost antioxidant enzyme, plays a key role in angiogenesis. Barley-derived (1.3) β-d-glucan (β-d-glucan) is a natural water-soluble polysaccharide with antioxidant properties. To explore the effects of β-d-glucan on MnSOD-related angiogenesis under oxidative stress, we tested epigenetic mechanisms underlying modulation of MnSOD level in human umbilic...

Glycans are major nutrients available to the human gut microbiota. The Bacteroides are generalist glycan degraders, and this function is mediated largely by polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs). The genomes of several Bacteroides species contain a PUL, PUL1,6-β-glucan, that was predicted to target mixed linked plant 1,3;1,4-β-glucans. To test this hypothesis we characterized the proteins enco...

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...

BACKGROUND The research aimed to improve the overall conversion efficiency of the CTec® family of enzymes by identifying factors that lead to inhibition and seeking methods to overcome these through process modification and manipulation. The starting material was pulp derived from municipal solid waste and processed in an industrial-scale washing plant. RESULTS Analysis of the pulp by acid hy...

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). ...