Beta-Glucans as a therapeutic agent: Literature Review

Abstract

Functional foods have been used due to benefits promoted for patient's health. There are several types of functional foods. Thus, the prebiotics being a class used because of the health effects promoted on gastrointestinal tract. Among the prebiotic, beta-glucans (BG's) is highlighted due to the activity in modulation of host immune response. However, besides to modulating the immune response, BG's may exert effects on metabolic parameters such as glycaemia and cholesterolemia. Such effects occur due to the formation of a gelatinous layer in the intestine, which impairs the absorption of glucose and lipids. Thus, many studies have investigated the effects of BG consumption in patients with diabetes mellitus or hypercholesterolemia. According to literature, the use of these prebiotics in glycemic and lipid metabolism control was shown to be effective mainly in diabetic patients. Such results show that beyond to the known immunomodulatory effects of BG's, exist a metabolic effect that is beneficial in prevention and may be adjuvant in the treatment of metabolic diseases.

Potential promising anticancer applications of β-glucans: a review

“…The chemical structure of oats-isolated β-glucans represents a linear structure formed by glucose units, which are connected by β (1-3) and β (1-4) bonds, and have short branches. The β (1-4) bonds correspond to 70% of the glycosidic bonds and appear in the sequence of two or three glucose units interrupted by a β (1-3) [ 8 ].…”

“…Low-weight β-glucans are usually inactive, while those of intermediate weight have biological actions and their efficacy is low at cellular levels [ 8 ]. On the other hand, the molecular weight of β-glucans can directly activate leukocytes and stimulate their phagocytic, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial activity.…”

Perspectives in the Application of High, Medium, and Low Molecular Weight Oat β-d-Glucans in Dietary Nutrition and Food Technology—A Short Overview

“…There is evidence that the 6 g/day dosage is much more effective in reducing glycemia and glycosylated hemoglobin than the 4 g/day recommended by the European Food Safety Authority [ 131 ]. It can be explained by the prolongation of gastric emptying, although there are still few articles with data about the long-term effects on other cardiovascular disease markers such as insulin sensitivity [ 132 ].…”

>b<Efeitos dos beta-glucanos na glicemia e lipidemia de cães diabéticos>/b<

“…Dentre eles estão os beta-glucanos (BG), compostos a base de fibras solúveis encontrados na parede celular de leveduras (MAGNANI & CASTRO-GÓMEZ, 2008), bactérias(ZHU et al, 2016) e na parede celular do endosperma de alguns cereais. As principais fontes dessa fibra são a aveia e a cevada, enquanto outros cereais como trigo e centeio apresentam baixa concentração(CLOETENS et al, 2012).Os BG apresentam papel fundamental na modulação do sistema imunológico e, alguns estudos apontaram seus efeitos na glicemia e colesterolemia, cujo mecanismo de ação pode estar relacionado a formação de uma camada gelatinosa no intestino que diminui a absorção da glicose e dos lipídeos, o que evidencia possíveis efeitos benéficos para cães diabéticos(ANDRADE & ORLANDO, 2018;…”