Views: 4 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2023-08-11 Origin: Site
In recent years, consumers' attention to their own immunity has continued to rise, especially with the liberalization of the global COVID-19 epidemic policy by the end of 2022, consumers' attention to immune enhancement has reached an unprecedented height. People gradually realize that the occurrence, development, and recovery of diseases are closely related to the health of the human immune system. The importance placed by consumers on immunity has led to the recognition of beta glucan, a dietary fiber component with excellent immune enhancing effects, in the food and dietary supplement industries. According to SPINS, beta glucan was the fastest-growing functional raw material in the US market in 2020, with an annual growth rate of 507%. According to expert predictions, beta glucan will become one of the important functional raw materials in the coming years.
PART 01
Glucan is the most common type of high molecular polysaccharide chain in nature, formed by the polymerization of glucose monomers. It is based on D-pyran glucose as the basic unit, and its structure is diverse. The types of glycosidic bonds are usually: (1 → 3), (1 → 4), and (1 → 6), which can be divided into three types: α Type and β Type. α- Glucan is a single chain structure with a ribbon like structure, extending along the fiber axis in a non helical manner and has little biological activity. It represents substances such as starch, which provides the main energy for the human body. β- Glucan is a polymer formed by enzymatic catalysis of the synthetic precursor substance uridine diphosphate glucose. With the maturity of research technologies such as separation and purification, structural identification, and functional characterization, the special physiological activity and medicinal value of beta glucan have been continuously discovered, beta glucan has gradually become a research hotspot in the food industry in recent years.
Research has reported that beta glucan has various biological activities, such as immune regulation, anti-tumor, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-aging, radiation protection, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, and lipid-lowering. Among them, the activity of beta glucan in immunology and anti-tumor has been reported earlier and studied in depth, with other activities mainly being reported one after another after 2000. Beta glucan has been widely used in health industries such as pharmaceuticals, functional foods, food additives, cosmetics, and feed. Beta glucan, as an important natural dietary fiber, exists in various natural sources of plants and microorganisms such as grains (oats, barley, barley), fungi (yeast, Ganoderma lucidum, Hericium erinaceus), bacteria and algae (naked algae). Beta glucans from different sources exhibit differences in glycosidic bond types, molecular structures, and branching positions. Cereals can produce beta (1,3/1,4) - glucan, algae can produce beta (1,3) - glucan, fungi can produce beta (1,3/1,6) - glucan, and bacteria can produce beta-1,3/ α- 1,3-glucan. According to the differences in structure, beta glucans from different sources have different emphasis on water solubility and functionality.
PART 02
Beta glucan is allowed as an effective immune activator in multiple countries such as the United States, Canada, Finland, Sweden, China, Japan, and South Korea, and was once referred to as immune gold internationally. Beta glucan has multiple regulatory effects on the immune system, and its mechanism of action is: (1) it can activate the activity of immune cell populations such as T cells and the phagocytosis of macrophages in the body; (2) Promote white blood cell proliferation; (3) Stimulate anti-tumor and antibacterial activities, etc; (4) Its receptors are mainly expressed on the surface of monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils. Beta glucan recognizes and binds receptors, activates immune cells, promotes cytokine production, increases and maintains antibody levels, activates the complement system, and enhances the body's ability to resist foreign pathogens, microbial invasion, and tissue self repair.
PART 03
Beta glucans derived from grains are mainly extracted from oats or barley. Cereal beta glucan is a non starch polysaccharide present in the cell walls of endosperm and aleurone layers, belonging to water-soluble dietary fiber. Its high viscosity can significantly inhibit and prevent diabetes by increasing the viscosity of digestive juice in the gastrointestinal tract, prolonging the emptying time of the stomach, reducing the digestibility of starch, promoting insulin secretion, thereby reducing the absorption rate of glucose. It can also reduce cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels in the body, increase high-density lipoprotein levels, and thereby reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. At the same time, cereal beta glucans also have certain functions in regulating immunity and improving intestinal health. China approved oat beta glucan as a new food ingredient in 2014. Oat beta glucan has also passed GRAS certification by the US FDA. In the European Union, oat/barley beta glucan has been approved as a new food ingredient and has a health claim that it can lower cholesterol in the blood and help reduce the increase in postprandial blood sugar. Oat beta glucan can be used in various common foods, and its prebiotic and satiety enhancing effects make it very suitable for adding to meal substitutes such as cereal bars and milkshakes.
The beta glucan derived from fungi mainly comes from yeast and large fungi such as Ganoderma lucidum, Hericium erinaceus, and shiitake mushrooms. The beta glucan of large fungi has a similar structure and efficacy to yeast beta glucan, but research has shown that it is not as efficient as yeast derived glucan. Yeast beta glucan is a polysaccharide derived from the cell wall of yeast, with a main chain consisting of β- 1,3 glycosidic bond binding, branched with β- 1,6 glycosidic bond binding. It is the earliest polysaccharide discovered and applied to enhance immunity, which can enhance the function of macrophages and natural killer cells, thereby enhancing the body's immune defense ability. Many studies have shown that yeast beta glucan has a significant improvement effect on influenza and upper respiratory tract infections. Meng's research suggests that yeast beta glucan can reduce the incidence of common diseases in children aged 1-4. During the epidemic, a source of black yeast β- Glucan is also recommended as a vaccine adjuvant for COVID-19.
China approved beta glucan from brewing yeast as a new food ingredient in 2010, and beta glucan from bread yeast as a nutritional enhancer in 2012, which can be used in infant formula milk powder and infant formula milk powder. Yeast beta glucan and black yeast derived beta glucan have successively passed GRAS certification by the US FDA, and in addition, beta glucan from Ganoderma lucidum mycelium has also passed GRAS certification. Yeast beta glucan has also been approved by the European Union as a new food ingredient. Yeast beta glucan, as an important functional food ingredient, has been widely used in functional foods and dietary supplements to enhance immunity. In addition, yeast beta glucan can also improve the water retention, stability, and emulsifying properties of food, and can be used as a fat substitute in dairy products, meat products, baked goods, and other foods.
β- 1,3/ α- 1,3-glucan is made from sucrose as the main raw material through processes such as fermentation, alcohol precipitation, filtration, separation, drying, and crushing by Rhizobium pussneri. It is a novel water-soluble extracellular polysaccharide produced by patented strain fermentation, consisting of 7 β- 1,3-glucoside bond and 2 α- A repeating unit linear chain structure formed by connecting 1,3-glucoside bonds, β- The proportion of 1,3 bonds is over 75%. Compared to traditional beta glucans, β- 1,3/ α- 1,3-glucan has better water solubility, strong colorless and odorless stability, better processability, and is suitable for adding to various food and beverages. It also has higher activity and immune enhancement. Related studies have shown that it has various functions such as regulating intestinal microbiota, repairing intestinal mucosa, improving immunity, moistening intestines and defecating, lowering blood sugar, assisting in lowering blood lipids, alleviating fatigue, and repairing liver damage. It is a very powerful functional raw material.
