Abstract
β-Glucan exhibits many biological activities and functions such as stimulation of the immune system and anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-infective, anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-coagulant, cholesterol-lowering, radio protective, and wound healing effects. It has a wide variety of uses in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and chemical industries as well as in food processing units. However, due to its dense triple helix structure, formed by the interaction of polyhydroxy groups in the β-d-glucan molecule, it features poor solubility, which not only constrains its applications, but also inhibits its physiological function in vivo. One aim is to expand the applications for modified β-glucan with potential to prevent disease, various therapeutic purposes and as health-improving ingredients in functional foods and cosmetics. This review introduces the major modification methods required to understand the bioactivity of β-glucan and critically provides a literature survey on the structural features of this molecule and reported biological activity. We also discuss a new method to create novel opportunities to exploit maximally various properties of β-glucan, namely ultrasound-assisted enzymatic modification.
Highlights
Ever since β-glucan was first found to possess bioactivity and used in clinical practice, many scholars have devoted research to β-glucan from different sources, such as bacteria, fungi and higher plants; the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important source of β-glucan [1]
The cell wall of yeast is divided into three layers from outside to the inside, namely mannan, protein and dextran; β-d-glucan is the main component of dextran (Figure 1) [2,3]
Impact on the solubility, molecular papers that have reviewed the relationship between changes the in the physicochemical properties and weight, solution conformation and biological activity of the modified β-glucan has rarely been weight, solution conformation and biological activity of the has rarely been bioactivities of β-glucan modification methods
Summary
Ever since β-glucan was first found to possess bioactivity and used in clinical practice, many scholars have devoted research to β-glucan from different sources, such as bacteria, fungi and higher plants; the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important source of β-glucan [1]. High molecular weight branched β-glucans from yeastyeast and and fungal walls, which contain variable but minorproportions proportionsofof(1→6)-β-glucosidic (1→6)-β-glucosidic interchain interchain fungal cell cell walls, which contain variable but minor linkages, are their insoluble chemical nature, particulate β-glucans are linkages, are insoluble insolublein inwater. Impact on the solubility, molecular papers that have reviewed the relationship between changes the in the physicochemical properties and weight, solution conformation and biological activity of the modified β-glucan has rarely been weight, solution conformation and biological activity of the has rarely been bioactivities of β-glucan modification methods. Theand main aims of the present are to discuss recent advances in weight, solution biological activity of review the modified β-glucan has rarely been research on the modification and solubilization of β-glucan, its sources, structural features of natively research on the modification and main solubilization of β-glucan, its sources, structural features of natively summarized and reviewed. Research thethe modification and solubilization of β-glucan, its sources, structural features of natively β-glucan, and the possible mechanisms of improved bioactivity through such modifications
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