• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.271-274
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• 2009

Cereal $\beta$-glucans, linked essentially by mixed $\beta$-(1,4/1,3) glycosidic bonds, were extracted, purified, and structurally identified. Previously chemical structure of barley $\beta$-glucans was characterized from 3 varieties of 'Gang', 'Ohl', and 'Gwangan', and the (1,4)/(1,3) linkage ratio of the $\beta$-glucans was identical. In this study, $\beta$-glucans from 1 barley ('Chal') and 3 oat ('Ohl', 'Samhan', and 'Donghan') varieties were structurally scrutinized, and the linkage pattern of total 7 cereal $\beta$-glucans was compared. The amount of 2 major 3-O-$\beta$-cellobiosyl-D-glucose (DP3) and 3-O-$\beta$-cellotriosyl-D-glucose (DP4) from barley and oat accounted for only 66.6-73.3 and 68.12-81.89% of water-extractable $\beta$-glucan fractions, and the (1,4)/(1,3) linkage ratios of both barley and oat $\beta$-glucans were within very narrow range of 2.27-2.31 and 2.38-2.39, respectively, among the cultivars tested. Structural difference in the cereal $\beta$-glucans was evident when DP3:DP4 ratio in the $\beta$-glucan structure was compared. As a result, this ratio was significantly greater for barley $\beta$-glucan (2.26-2.74) than for oat (1.54-1.66). Chal-B had the greatest DP3 to DP4 ratio among the samples, which in turn reflected the least amount of (1,4)-linkages.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.482-487
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• 1996

Five barley and two oat varieties grown in Korea were investigated for soluble, insoluble, and total $(1{\to}3)$, $(1{\to}4)-{\beta}-D-glucans$. Total and insoluble ${\beta}-glucans$ after extraction of soluble ${\beta}-glucans$ with water were analyzed, and the soluble ${\beta}-glucans$ were calculated as the difference between total and insoluble ${\beta}-glucans$. The total ${\beta}-glucans$ in whole barleys were in a range of $3.3{\sim}5.6%$(average 4.4%), and those in pearled barleys were In a range of $3.3{\sim}7.1%$(average 5.2%). In whole barleys, on average, 54% of the ${\beta}-glucans$ was soluble and in pearled barley 46%. Whole oats contained $3.1{\sim}4.0%$ total ${\beta}-glucans$, and dehulling increased the groat ${\beta}-glucans$ contents to $4.0{\sim}4.8%$. Oats demonstrated considerably higher ${\beta}-glucans$ solubility of 84% than barley. ${\beta}-Glucans$ in barley and oats were rapidly extracted at the beginning of the extraction and almost all of the ${\beta}-glucans$ were extracted after $2{\sim}3 hr extraction. As extraction temperature increased from $23^{\circ}C$ to $45^{\circ}C$, more soluble ${\beta}-glucans$ were extracted. However, solubility of barley ${\beta}-glucans$ decreased at a relatively high temperature of $65^{\circ}C$. Steam-cooking reduced the analytical solubility of barley and oat ${\beta}-glucans$, while roasting seemed to render the ${\beta}-glucans$ of barley more soluble.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.41 no.spc1
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• pp.10-24
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• 1996

[ ($1{\to}3$) ], ($1{\to}4$)-${\beta}$-D-glucans(${\beta}-glucans$) are a major component of the cell walls of grasses as a component of the cereal endosperm and aleurone cell walls. Although ${\beta}-glucans$ exist in all cereals, their concentration is highest in oats and barley. Genetic and environmental differences are found in total ${\beta}-glucan$ content. Both oats and barley ${\beta}-glucans$ have cholesterol-lowering effects. This suggests possible use as food additives. Structural characterization of ${\beta}-glucan$ is important because structure can influence physical and physiological properties. In this review, ${\beta}-glucans$ of barley and oats are discussed in details including structure, chemical and physical properties, and nutritional implications. The use of barley and oat products as well as ${\beta}-glucan$ as a food additive continues to increase. This can provide an additional market for barley and oats, thus increasing the value of the crops.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.459-465
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• 2002

$\beta$-l, 3-glucans are well known to enhance the immune reactions, resulting in antitumor, antibacterial, antiviral, anticoagulatory and wound healing activities. $\beta$-1, 3-glucans have various activities depending on molecular weight, degree of branching, conformation, water-solubility and intermolecular association. However, the $\beta$-1, 3-glucans linked backbone structure is essential and $\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl units are required for immunopotentiating activities. In this study, we tested the immunophamacological activities of insoluble $\beta$-1, 3-glucan from Agrobacterium sp. R259 KCTC 10197BP and confirmed the following activities: (1) IFN-${\gamma}$ production in PBMCs in the presence or in the absence of PHA, LPS, IL-18, and IL-12; (2) the induction of various cytokines in the spleen and thymus; (3) the adjuvant effect on the antibody production; (4) the cytotoxic and antitumor effects on cell lines and ICR mice. These results strongly suggest that $\beta$-1, 3-glucan from Agrobacterium sp. R259 KCTC 10197BP possesses various immunopharmacologica1 activities.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2003

Background: $\beta$-1,3-glucans are well known to enhance the immune reactions, resulting in antitumor, antibacterial, antiviral, anticoagulatory and wound healing activities. $\beta$-1, 3-glucans have various activities depending on molecular weight, degree of branching, conformation, water-solubility and intermolecular association. However, the $\beta$-1,3-glucan linked backbone structure is essential and $\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl units are required for immuno-potentiating activities. Result: In this study, we tested the immunophamacological activities of soluble $\beta$-1,3-glucans and confirmed the following activities: (1) $IFN-{\gamma}$ production in PBMCs in the presence or the absence of PHA, LPS, or IL-18; (2) induction of various cytokines in the spleen and thymus; (3) adjuvant effect on the antibody production; (4) nitrogen oxide synthesis in macrophages; (5) the cytotoxic and antitumor effects on cell lines and ICR mice. Conclusion: These results strongly suggested that $\beta$-1,3-glucans possessed various immuno-pharmacological activities.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.576-583
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• 2006

The alkali-soluble glucan of the yeast cell wall contains $\beta-(1,3)-$ and (1,6)-D-linkages and is known to systemically enhance the immune system. In the previous study [6], in order to isolate cell wall mutants, a wild-type strain was mutagenized by exposure to ultraviolet light, and the mutants were then selected via treatment with laminarinase $(endo-\beta-(1,3)-D-glucanase)$. The mass of alkali- and water-soluble glucans produced by the mutant was measured to be 33.8 mg/g of the dry mass of the yeast cell. Our results showed that the mutants generated the amount of alkali-soluble glucan 10-fold higher than that generated by the wild-type. Structural analysis showed that the alkali-soluble glucan from the mutants was associated with a higher degree of $\beta-(1,6)-D-linkage$ than was observed in conjunction with the wild-type. Yeast cell wall $\beta-glucan$ was shown to interact with macrophages via receptors, thereby inducing the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha $(TNF-\alpha)$ and nitric oxide. Alkali-soluble $\beta-glucans$, both from water-soluble and water-insoluble glucan, exhibited a higher degree of macrophage activity with regard to both the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha $(TNF-\alpha)$ and nitric oxide and direct phagocytosis, than did the positive control ($1{\mu}g$ of lipopolysaccharide).

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.590-597
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• 2000

The rheological properties of ${\beta}-glucans$ isolated from non-waxy and waxy barley were investigated. ${\beta}-Glucan$ solutions showed pseudoplastic properties and their behaviors were explained by applying Power law model in the range of concentrations$(1{\sim}4%)$ and temperatures$(20{\sim}65^{\circ}C)$. The effects of temperature and concentration on the apparent viscosity at $700\;s^{-1}$ shear rate were examined by applying Arrhenius equation and power law equation, and their effect was more pronounced in waxy ${\beta}-glucan$ solutions. The activation energy for flow of ${\beta}-glucan$ solutions decreased with the increase of concentration, and the concentration-dependent constant A increased with the increase of temperature. The intrinsic viscosity of waxy ${\beta}-glucan$ was higher than that of non-waxy ${\beta}-glucan$. The transition from dilute to concentrate region occurred at a critical coil overlap parameter $C^*[{\eta}]=0.02.$ The slopes of non-waxy and waxy ${\beta}-glucan$ at $C[{\eta}] were similar, but the slope of waxy ${\beta}-glucan$ at $C[{\eta}]>C^*[{\eta}]$ was higher than that of non-waxy ${\beta}-glucan$. Dynamic viscoelasticity measurement showed that cross-over happened, and storage modulus was higher than loss modulus at frequency range above cross-over. ${\beta}-Glucan$ solutions formed weak gels after stored for 24 hr.