Abstract
β-Glucans are a group of biologically-active fibers or polysaccharides from natural sources with proven medical significance. β-Glucans are known to have antitumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-allergic, anti-osteoporotic, and immunomodulating activities. β-Glucans are natural bioactive compounds and can be taken orally, as a food supplement, or as part of a daily diet, and are considered safe to use. The medical significance and efficiency of β-glucans are confirmed in vitro, as well as using animal- and human-based clinical studies. However, systematic study on the clinical and physiological significance of β-glucans is scarce. In this review, we not only discuss the clinical and physiological importance of β-glucans, we also compare their biological activities through the existing in vitro and animal-based in vivo studies. This review provides extensive data on the clinical study of β-glucans.
Highlights
Antitumor Effects of β-GlucansThe antitumor effects of β-glucans, extracted from different sources, have been extensively studied in vitro, as well as in animal-based in vivo studies; human-based clinical trials have rarely been reported
Introduction βGlucans are groups of dietary fibers or polysaccharides composed of D-glucose monomers, linked by 1,3; 1,4 or 1,6 β-glycosidic bonds (Figure 1), and are naturally found in the cell wall of bacteria, fungi, algae, and higher crops, such as cereals
The anti-diabetic and anti-obesity effects of β-glucans have been largely studied in animal- and human-based clinical trials, but have not been reported using in vitro studies
Summary
The antitumor effects of β-glucans, extracted from different sources, have been extensively studied in vitro, as well as in animal-based in vivo studies; human-based clinical trials have rarely been reported. The antitumor effects of β-glucans are been listed in Tables 2–4 and are described below
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