Glucan (glucan) is a polysaccharide substance that exists in the mucus secreted by some microorganisms during the growth process. It is divided into α-glucan and β-glucan. This substance that can enhance immunity was isolated and identified as β-glucan.
β-glucan widely exists in foods such as yeast, mushrooms, oats and barley, among which β-1,3/1,6 exists in yeast and mushroom glucan, while β-1,3/1,4 exists in Oat and barley glucan.
β-glucan is different from common sugars (such as starch, glycogen, dextrin, etc.), the main difference is that the bond connection method is different. The molecular structure of common sugars is α-1,4-glucoside β-glucan is mainly composed of β-1,3-glycosidic bonds, and contains some branched chains of β-1,6-glycosidic bonds. β-glucan has a helical molecular structure due to its special bond connection mode and the existence of hydrogen bonds in the molecule. This unique configuration is easily accepted by the immune system.
What's beta-glucan?
β-glucan, English name Beta-Glucan, belongs to fiber polysaccharides, which are polysaccharides connected by glycosidic bonds of glucose units. According to the direction of the hydroxyl group in the glucose unit in the structure, dextran is divided into α-type and β-type. If the two -OH directions in the monomer are opposite, it is called α-glucan, and if the directions are the same, it is called β-glucan.
Classification of β-glucans
In terms of the effect on the body, oat β-glucan as a dietary fiber has a greater effect of lowering cholesterol, but it is not as good as β-polysaccharides in yeast and fungi in terms of enhancing immunity.
In terms of skin care, oat beta-glucan and yeast beta-glucan are often used. But their properties are different:
Oat β-glucan is water-soluble, while yeast β-glucan is insoluble in water, which poses certain challenges in the formulation of skin care products. Therefore, scientists improved the yeast β-glucan, which became a water-soluble polysaccharide after carboxymethylation.
Carboxymethylated β-glucan is CM-Glucan, which is why you may see β-Glucan or CM-Glucan in the ingredient list of skin care products.
For more information about β-glucans, please do not hesitate to contact us at chriswang@sheerherb.com.
