• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.115-125
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• 2021

Mushroom consumption causes changes in the immune system and gut microbiota via the actions of mushroom probiotic components. β-Glucan structure-related substances suppress secretion of inflammatory mediators, and induce macrophage activation, enhancing immunity and immune function. Substances other than directly useful components can be metabolized into short-chain fatty acids by gut microbiota. These short-chain fatty acids can then induce immunity, alleviating various diseases. Substances used to stimulate growth of health-promoting gut bacteria, thereby changing the gut microbiota community are defined to be probiotics. Probiotic altered intestinal microflora can prevent various types of bacterial infection from external sources, and can help to maintain immune system balance, thus preventing diseases. Research into beneficial components of Pleurotus eryngii, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus ostreatus, Flammulina velutipes, Auricularia auricula-judae, and Agaricus bisporus, which are frequently consumed in Korea, changes in microbiota, changes in short-chain fatty acids, and correlations between consumption and health contribute to our understanding of the effects of dietary mushrooms on disease prevention and mitigation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.228-237
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• 2022

In this study, the effects of the immune stimulator Euglena gracilis (Euglena) in cyclophosphamide (CCP)-induced immunocompromised mice were assessed. The key component β-1,3-glucan (paramylon) constitutes 50% of E. gracilis. Mice were orally administered Euglena powder (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight (B.W.)) or β-glucan powder (250 mg/kg B.W.) for 19 days. In a preliminary immunology experiment, ICR mice were intraperitoneally injected with 80 mg of CCP/kg B.W. during the final 3 consecutive days. In the main experiment, BALB/c mice were treated with CCP for the final 5 days. To evaluate the enhancing effects of Euglena on the immune system, mouse B.W., the spleen index, natural killer (NK) cell activity and mRNA expression in splenocytes lungs and livers were determined. To detect cytokine and receptor expression, splenocytes were treated with 5 ㎍/ml concanavalin A or 1 ㎍/ml lipopolysaccharide. The B.W. and spleen index were significantly increased and NK cell activity was slightly enhanced in all the experimental groups compared to the CCP-only group. In splenocytes, the gene expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-6, and IL-12 receptor were increased in the E. gracilis and β-glucan groups compared to the CCP-only group, but there was no significant difference. Treatment with 500 mg of Euglena/kg B.W. significantly upregulated dectin-1 mRNA expression in the lung and liver compared to the CCP-only group. These results suggest that Euglena may enhance the immune system by strengthening innate immunity through immunosuppression.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.296-300
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• 2016

The effect of different temperatures (45, 55, 65, and $75^{\circ}C$) on the extraction of ${\beta}$-glucan and the properties of extracted ${\beta}$-glucan were investigated with four different varieties of barley. Jeju naked barley, blue barley, beer barley, and black barley contained 6.85, 5.13, 3.58, and 4.16% of ${\beta}$-glucan, respectively. ${\beta}$-glucan in barley was extracted in the range of 64.88 to 93.84% depending on the extraction temperature and barley variety. The ${\beta}$-glucans in Jeju naked barley, Jeju blue barley, and black barley were optimally extracted at $65^{\circ}C$ for 3 h and Jeju beer barley at $75^{\circ}C$. The extracted ${\beta}$-glucan resolubilized to 43.48-81.73% and the ratio of ${\beta}(1{\rightarrow}3)$ to ${\beta}(1{\rightarrow}4)$ linkage was in the range of 1:3.8-5.8. These results suggest that purification and properties of ${\beta}$-glucan depend not only on the water extraction temperature, but also on the barley variety.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.284-291
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• 2011

Varietal and annual variations in the contents of ${\beta}$-glucan fractions per weight grain samples were examined in sixteen covered and eighteen naked barley and five oat cultivars developed in Korea. Also, the effect of pearling on ${\beta}$-glucan content was investigated. Average contents of total, soluble and insoluble ${\beta}$-glucan fractions were 5.25, 3.72, and 1.53%, respectively, in covered barley, and 5.86, 3.51, and 2.35%, respectively, in naked barley. Soluble ${\beta}$-glucan content was higher in covered barley, though total ${\beta}$-glucan content higher in naked barley. The total and insoluble ${\beta}$-glucan contents were higher in pearled grains. Total ${\beta}$-glucan content was higher in waxy barley than in non-waxy barley. Duwonchapssalbori, a two-rowed and waxy naked barley cultivar, was highest in total, soluble and insoluble ${\beta}$-glucan contents. Highly significant positive correlations were observed between total ${\beta}$-glucan and soluble ${\beta}$-glucan contents both in covered and naked barley. There were significant annual variations in total ${\beta}$-glucan content in barley. Average contents of total, soluble and insoluble ${\beta}$-glucans of oat cultivars were 4.33, 3.44, and 0.89%, respectively. Contents of all fractions of ${\beta}$-glucans were higher in barley than in oat. These results would be useful for the breeding of high ${\beta}$-glucan variety and also for the use barley and oat as valueadded food ingredients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.12
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• pp.2082-2087
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• 2013

The present study was performed to quantitatively analyze eleutherosides (B and E) and ${\beta}$-glucan in different plant parts of three cultivars (Chungnam, Gangwon, and Jeju) of Acanthopanax senticosus and Acanthopanax koreanum using HPLC and a commercial enzyme kit. Our results showed high linearity in the calibration curves as the coefficients of correlation ($R^2$) were 0.998 (eleutheroside B) and 0.999 (eleutheroside E), respectively. Eleutheroside B and E were found in stem extracts of A. koreanum cultivated in Jeju (1,122 ${\mu}g/g$, eleutheroside B) and A. senticosus cultivated in Chungnam (2,536 ${\mu}g/g$, eleutheroside E), respectively. However, eleutheroside B was not detected in any part of A. senticosus cultivated in Chungnam. For ${\beta}$-glucan contents, stems of A. senticosus and A. koreanum showed higher than other parts. Furthermore, the ${\beta}$-glucan content in stems of A. koreanum cultivated in Gangwon was significantly higher than in those of other cultivars. These results show that the contents of eleutheroside B, E, and ${\beta}$-glucan were higher in stem extracts of A. senticosus and A. koreanum than other parts. Moreover, our results suggest that the contents of eleutheroside B, E, and ${\beta}$-glucan in A. senticosus and A. koreanum are influenced by cultivation area and the selected part.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 2015

Glucan has been shown to have a significant role in the activation of the immune system, including increased activity of macrophages and so on. Sparassis latifolia (formerly S. crispa) is an edible mushroom abundant in dietary fiber and widely known to contain high levels of ${\beta}$-glucan. In the present study, fermentation broths containing soluble ${\beta}$-glucan were prepared by fermentation with mushrooms with four Lactobacillus species (L. plantarum subsp. Plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. helveticus, and L. delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus). After culturing four Lactobacillus spp. in MRS broth, each Lactobacillus was inoculated into MRS broth containing S. latifolia powder 5% (w/v) at $37^{\circ}C$ in an anaerobic incubator for five days. It showed that the ${\beta}$-glucan contents were different in each fermentation sample. The suitable conditions for the preparation of mushroom fermentation broths were investigated and discussed.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.721-726
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• 2015

Phellinus baumii has been used in traditional oriental medicine for the treatment of various cancer types, such as lung cancer, ovarian cancer and malignant melanoma. It has strong anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities due to its polysaccharides including glucan, schizophyllan, heteroglycan and lentinan, as well as its polyphenolics such as protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, coumaric acid. ${\beta}$-Glucan and polyphenolics may be the most important activ ecompounds in P. baumii. Therefore, researchers have focused on these two compounds to improve their contents in extracts. In this study, P. baumii was extracted with hot-water and ethanol at different pH conditions, and their ${\beta}$-glucan contents, antioxidant activity and antioxidant contents were determined. Extraction yield was highest for the 60% ethanol extract at pH 4. The ${\beta}$-glucan contents of the hot-water extract at pH 7 was higher than those of the ethanol extracts. The antioxidant contents and antioxidant activities of the ethanol extracts were higher than those of the hot-water extracts. Extraction with 60% ethanol at pH 7 was appropriate with respect to the antioxidant capacities.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.999-1010
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• 2016

Ganoderma lucidum BCCM 31549 has a long established role for its therapeutic activities. In this context, much interest has focused on the possible functions of the (1,3)-β-D-glucan (G) produced by these cultures in a stirred-tank bioreactor and extracted from their underutilized mycelium. In the existing study, we report on the systematic production of G, and its sulfated derivative (GS). The aim of this study was to investigate G and its GS from G. lucidum in terms of their antibacterial properties and cytotoxicity spectrum against human prostate cells (PN2TA) and human caucasian histiocytic lymphoma cells (U937). ¹H NMR for both G and GS compounds showed β-glycosidic linkages and structural similarities when compared with two standards (laminarin and fucoidan). The existence of characteristic absorptions at 1,170 and 867 cm^-1 in the FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) for GS demonstrated the successful sulfation of G. Only GS exhibited antimicrobial activity against a varied range of test bacteria of relevance to foodstuffs and human health. Moreover, both G and GS did not show any cytotoxic effects on PN2TA cells, thus helping demonstrate the safety of these polymers. Moreover, GS showed 40% antiproliferation against cancerous U937 cells at the low concentration (60 μg/ ml) applied in this study compared with G (10%). Together, this demonstrates that sulfation clearly improved the solubility and therapeutic activities of G. The water-soluble GS demonstrates the potential multifunctional effects of these materials in foodstuffs.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.728-737
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• 2005

This study was conducted to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of pound cake made of substituted flour with different amount of $\beta-glucan$ i.e. 3, 6 and $9\%$ respectively. $\beta-glucan$ is a functional food material produced from Agrobacterium sup. R259 KCTC 10197BP. The specific gravity and pH of dough were found to be increased according to $\beta-glucan$ content Rheological property such as adhesiveness of dough has no difference between control and $\beta-glucan$ added groups. The pH of baked pound cake was not significantly different between control and $\beta-glucan$ groups. The volume of baked pound cake wag not significantly different between control and the ones with up to $6\%$ $\beta-glucan$, Lightness (L), redness (a) and yellowness (b) value of Hunter color system of cake crumb were not significantly different among teated groups, except a value of crust in $9\%$ $\beta-glucan$ group. the moisture content of cake increased according to $\beta-glucan$ content. Hardness by texture analyser was decreased with increasing $\beta-glucan$ content although cohesiveness wag not changed in β$\beta-glucan$ groups, compared with the control. Sensory evaluation results showed that the mean scores of over·all acceptability in 3 and $6\%$ $\beta-glucan$ were higher than that of control. Based on these results, the addition of $\beta-glucan$ to pound cake up to $6\%$ was considered to be desirable especially in terms of texture.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.1145-1149
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• 2004

Immunomodulatory feed additives might offer alternatives to antimicrobial growth promoters in poultry production. This experiment was carried out to test the effect of $\beta$-glucan supplementation on the growth performance and immune response in broilers. Total of 160 day-old broilers were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups fed corn-soybean diets containing 0, 0.012, 0.025 or 0.05% of $\beta$-glucan supplement in a 6 week feeding experiment. Growth performance, antibody titer against New Castle vaccine, lymphocyte blastogensis, and peritoneal macrophage chemotaxis activity of broilers were evaluated. Results showed that there were no significant differences in weight gain and feed efficiency among the treatments, and no differences in antibody titer was observed. Supplementation of $\beta$-glucan did not elevate the lymphocyte blastogensis among treatments, following stimulation with different mitogens. However, supplementation with 0.025 and 0.05% $\beta$-glucan enhanced the macrophage chemotaxis activity of broilers. These results suggest that $\beta$-glucan may enhance some cell-mediated immune responses of chickens by modulate macrophages ability.