Date flesh fiber concentrate (DFFC) of Deglet Nour variety were extracted and incorporated in a bakery product. Dough rheological characteristics showed that water absorption, stability, index quality, resistance to deformation increased with the amount of added fiber, whereas degree of softening and extensibility decreased in all levels of fiber. Bread evaluation revealed that DFFC addition caused an increase of bread yield especially for the highest levels, a change of crumb color and an insignificant decrease of bread volume. Breads are subjected to sensory evaluation for odor, taste, crumb color, crumb smoothness and overall acceptability. Significant differences were not found (P > 0.05) between scores for all sensory parameters. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Consumption of dietary fiber offers health benefits including protection against cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other degenerative diseases. However, fiber intake is commonly lower than recommended. In consequence, the application of fiber in food production should be desirable. This work intended to add value to the second‐grade dates (with a hard texture) from the potential Tunisian cultivars “Deglet Nour,” which has a very good sensory quality and a high commercial value. This by‐product could be regarded as an important source of dietary fiber with interesting functional properties and many beneficial effects on human health. Then, date flesh fiber concentrate could be used in value‐added applications such as bread making.

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β-Glucans, homopolymers of glucose, are widespread in many microorganisms, mushrooms and plants. They have attracted attention because of their bioactive and medicinal functions. One important source of β-glucans is the cell wall of yeasts, especially that of baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Several processes for the isolation of β-glucans, using alkali, acid or a combination of both, result in degradation of the polymeric chains. In this paper, we have an enzymatic process for the isolation of glucans from yeast cell walls. As a result, β-glucans were obtained in a yield of 18.0% of the original ratio in the yeast cell walls. Therefore, this isolation process gave a better yield and higher β-glucan content than did traditional isolation methods. Furthermore, results showed that each extraction step of β-glucan had a significant effects on its chemical properties.

β-D-glucans are a (1→3)-linked glucose polymer with (1→6)-linked side chains and a major component of fungal cell walls. They exhibit structural integrity to the fungal cell wall. In addition, β-glucans are widely used as food adjuvant in food and pharmaceutical industries because of their physico-chemical properties. Several studies have focused on different isolation processes of (1→3) (1→6)-β-glucan that could affect the physico-chemical and functional properties of β-glucan such as chemical composition, solubility, viscosity, hydration properties, and oil binding capacity. Immunological activity is one of the most important properties of β-glucans. Thus, they are effective in inhibiting growth of cancer cells and metastasis and preventing bacterial infection. In humans, β-glucans reduce blood cholesterol, improve glucose absorption by body cells, and so help wound healing. This review described the prebiotic potentiality of fungal β-D-glucans with the objective to detail the methodologies applied for their extraction, their structure and techno-functional properties, and finally their biological effects.