Glucan Polysaccharides Research Articles

An Enzymatic Method for the Determination of Yeast Cell Wall Glucan in Foods

ABSTRACTProcessed cell wall β‐glucans prepared from strains of baker's or brewer's yeast can be used as a thickening agent in aqueous food systems and they provide a fat‐like mouthfeel. This article describes an analytical procedure for the determination of the glucan content added to a variety of food products. The method is based on measurement of reducing sugars produced when the food sample, after appropriate pretreatment, is treated with a commercial microbial β‐glucanase (Zymolyase) that is specific for the β‐linkages present in the glucan polysaccharide of the added yeast cell walls.

Activation of Macrophages by the Polysaccharide Glucan:T.E.M. Studies of Tumor Cell Destruction in BI6 Melanoma and in Humans.

The polysaccharide glucan obtained from the cell wall of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevicea has been shown to possess important properties in respect to induction of local tumor regression in both animal models and in humans following intralesional injection.(Diluzio et al. 1974,Mansell et al. 1976.) Glucan is a long chain of glucopyranose units united by their β.I.3 glycosidic linkages.(Fig.I)The details of how glucan brings about its affect on the monocyte/macrophage cell type are largely unknown but the tumor regression appears to involve phagocytosis of tumor cells after the macrophages have become activated as a result of ingesting glucan.Other mechanisms of tumor cell destruction involving contact-mediated lysis of either immune specific or non specific forms are possible but have not been described in this system.The typical result of the interactions between tumor cells and macrophages is the production of a cold abscess.

Comparative study of the biological action of the polysaccharide glucan and laminarin

Polysaccharides glucan and laminarin produce a practically identical preventive effect in experimental staphylococcic sepsis and secure the survival of 76–83% of mice, whereas in control experiments the death rate is 90%.

Biological activity of the polysaccharide glucan

Experiments on rabbits showed that glucan has the property of causing changes in the body characteristic of many bacterial polysaccharides: a reaction of the leukocytes, an increase in the phagocytic activity of the reticuloendothelial system, and an increase in the resistance of mice and chick embryos to bacterial infection. “Hydrolyzed” glucan does not possess these properties. Earlier studies [2] showed that “hydrolyzed” glucan differs in its chemical structure from the original glucan: its molecule contains no β=1∶6 bond. The associated decrease in molecular weight and change in the configuration of the molecule apparently result in the loss of biological activity of this polysaccharide.