Biological Activity of High-Purity β-1,3-1,6-Glucan Derived from the Black Yeast Aureobasidium pullulans: A Literature Review.

Toshio Suzuki,Naohito Ohno,Takao Kuge,Nobuhiro Kondo,Kouji Nishikawa,Kisato Kusano

doi:10.3390/nu13010242

Abstract

The black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans produces abundant soluble β-1,3-1,6-glucan—a functional food ingredient with known health benefits. For use as a food material, soluble β-1,3-1,6-glucan is produced via fermentation using sucrose as the carbon source. Various functionalities of β-1,3-1,6-glucan have been reported, including its immunomodulatory effect, particularly in the intestine. It also exhibits antitumor and antimetastatic effects, alleviates influenza and food allergies, and relieves stress. Moreover, it reduces the risk of lifestyle-related diseases by protecting the intestinal mucosa, reducing fat, lowering postprandial blood glucose, promoting bone health, and healing gastric ulcers. Furthermore, it induces heat shock protein 70. Clinical studies have reported the antiallergic and triglyceride-reducing effects of β-1,3-1,6-glucan, which are indicators of improvement in lifestyle-related diseases. The primary and higher-order structures of β-1,3-1,6-glucan have been elucidated. Specifically, it comprises a single highly-branched glucose residue with the β-1,6 bond (70% or more) on a backbone of glucose with 1,3-β bonds. β-Glucan shows a triple helical structure, and studies on its use as a drug delivery system have been actively conducted. β-Glucan in combination with anti-inflammatory substances or fullerenes can be used to target macrophages. Based on its health functionality, β-1,3-1,6-glucan is an interesting material as both food and medicine.

Highlights

The black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans produces abundant soluble β-1,3-1,6-glucan—a functional food ingredient with known health benefits
During A. pullulans-derived β-glucan (APβG) production, food ingredients are used as the medium and sucrose as the sole carbon source for fermentation [18]
In Japan, APβG is approved as a thickener under the label of “Existing Food Additives.”

Summary

Introduction

The black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans produces abundant soluble β-1,3-1,6-glucan—a functional food ingredient with known health benefits. Various functionalities of β-1,3-1,6-glucan have been reported, including its immunomodulatory effect, in the intestine It exhibits antitumor and antimetastatic effects, alleviates influenza and food allergies, and relieves stress. It reduces the risk of lifestyle-related diseases by protecting the intestinal mucosa, reducing fat, lowering postprandial blood glucose, promoting bone health, and healing gastric ulcers. 1. Introduction β-1,3-Glucan, a well-known functional food ingredient derived from mushrooms, has been reported to exhibit antitumor activity [1,2,3,4,5]. Schizophyllan derived from the Suehirotake mushroom (Schizophyllum commune) and lentinan derived from the Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) are manufactured and traded as injectable anticancer drugs These compounds comprise β-1,3-glucan with β-1,6-branched structures. Β-1,3-glucans are derived from ascomycetes and other fungi, such as baker’s yeast and black yeast, which compromise β-1,6-branched structures

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