• 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.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.433-445
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• 2012

During the course of evolution, animals encountered the harmful effects of fungi, which are strong pathogens. Therefore, they have developed powerful mechanisms to protect themselves against these fungal invaders. ${\beta}$-Glucans are glucose polymers of a linear ${\beta}$(1,3)-glucan backbone with ${\beta}$(1,6)-linked side chains. The immunostimulatory and antitumor activities of ${\beta}$-glucans have been reported; however, their mechanisms have only begun to be elucidated. Fungal and particulate ${\beta}$-glucans, despite their large size, can be taken up by the M cells of Peyer's patches, and interact with macrophages or dendritic cells (DCs) and activate systemic immune responses to overcome the fungal infection. The sampled ${\beta}$-glucans function as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and are recognized by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) on innate immune cells. Dectin-1 receptor systems have been incorporated as the PRRs of ${\beta}$-glucans in the innate immune cells of higher animal systems, which function on the front line against fungal infection, and have been exploited in cancer treatments to enhance systemic immune function. Dectin-1 on macrophages and DCs performs dual functions: internalization of ${\beta}$-glucan-containing particles and transmittance of its signals into the nucleus. This review will depict in detail how the physicochemical nature of ${\beta}$-glucan contributes to its immunostimulating effect in hosts and the potential uses of ${\beta}$-glucan by elucidating the dectin-1 signal transduction pathway. The elucidation of ${\beta}$-glucan and its signaling pathway will undoubtedly open a new research area on its potential therapeutic applications, including as immunostimulants for antifungal and anti-cancer regimens.

• 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 Life Science
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2018

In this study, we examined the efficacy of the immune regulation of ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan and Lactobacillus plantarum LM1004 on atopic dermatitis models. The oral administration of ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan and L. plantarum LM1004 on mice significantly decreased the amount of scratching, leakage to evans blue, and concentrations of serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and histamine compared with the atopic dermatitis - induced group. When atopic dermatitis was induced, the transcription factors (GATA-3, retinoic acid-related orphan receptor ${\gamma}$ T [$ROR{\gamma}T$]) and cytokines (interleukin-4 [IL-4], IL-17) of Th2 and Th17 cells were overexpressed at the transcriptional level, and they significantly decreased with oral administration of ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan and L. plantarum LM1004. In addition, ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan and L. plantarum LM1004 were shown to modulate the immune balance by increasing the expression of Th1 and Treg transcription (T-bet, forkhead box p3 [Foxp3]) and cytokines (interferon-${\gamma}$ [IFN-${\gamma}$], transforming growth factor-${\beta}$ [TGF-${\beta}$]). Galectin-9 and filaggrin were significantly lower in the atopic dermatitis - induced group and significantly higher in the ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan-treated group. In contrast, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) was highest in the atopic dermatitis-induced group, while mice that were orally administered ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan and L. plantarum LM1004 showed similar TSLP levels to the control group. These results indicate that ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan and L. plantarum LM1004 have immunomodulatory effects and atopic dermatitis improvement effects in an animal model of atopic dermatitis. Therefore, it is expected that ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan and L. plantarum LM1004 can be used as natural materials in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

• Mycobiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.361-367
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• 2014

Makgeolli, also known as Takju, is a non-filtered traditional Korean alcoholic beverage that contains various floating matter, including yeast cells, which contributes to its high physiological functionality. In the present study, we assessed the levels of ${\beta}$-glucan and glutathione in various yeast strains isolated from traditional Korean Nuruk and selected a ${\beta}$-glucan- and glutathione-rich yeast strain to add value to Makgeolli by enhancing its physiological functionality through increased levels of these compounds. Yeast ${\beta}$-glucan levels ranged from 6.26% to 32.69% (dry basis) and were strongly species-dependent. Dried Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from Nuruk contained $25.53{\mu}g/mg$ glutathione, $0.70{\mu}g/mg$ oxidized glutathione, and $11.69{\mu}g/g$ and $47.85{\mu}g/g$ spermidine and L-ornithine monohydrochloride, respectively. To produce functional Makgeolli, a ${\beta}$-glucan- and glutathione-rich yeast strain was selected in a screening analysis. Makgeolli fermented with the selected yeast strain contained higher ${\beta}$-glucan and glutathione levels than commercial Makgeolli. Using the selected yeast strain to produce Makgeolli with high ${\beta}$-glucan and glutathione content may enable the production of functional Makgeolli.

• 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).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.613-621
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• 2006

This study was performed to evaluate the storage quality of milk bread added with $\beta$-glucan (10 20 and 30%), which is a functional food material produced from Agrobacterium spp. R259 KCTC 10197BP. During storage ($20^{\circ}C$, 40% relative humidity) the pH of all breads gradually increased, although there were no significant differences in pH of the $\beta$-glucan added milk bread from those of the control. During storage, the moisture content of all groups decreased, however, moisture contents in the $\beta$-glucan added breads were higher than that in the control. Hunter color values ($L^*,\;a^*\;and\;b^*\;value$) of the milk bread added upto 20% $\beta$-glucan were not significantly different, but the lightness increased during storage. Rapid increase of hardness in the milk bread during storage was observed in control, while the hardness of $\beta$-glucan added bread increased slowly. Also, the degree of retrogradation of bread decreased as $\beta$-glucan addition amount increased. Sensory evaluation showed that the score of over-all acceptability of the bread added with 20% $\beta$-glucan was the highest among treated groups until four days of storage. This study confirmed that the addition of $\beta$-glucan to milk bread maintained the moisture content and delayed hardness during storage.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.56-60
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• 2017

Fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lucidum cultivated in Korea were reflux extracted at $90^{\circ}C$ using water and ethanol under different pH conditions. ${\beta}-Glucan$ contents, extraction yield, and antioxidant capacities of extracts were investigated. Antioxidant activities of water and ethanol extracts were measured by DPPH radical scavenging test and the FRAP method, along with their total phenolic contents and total flavonoid contents. Extraction time for the experiment was determined to be 6 h, and ${\beta}-glucan$ contents were the highest. Overall, ${\beta}-glucan$ contents of extracts increased with higher pH values, except those of 90% ethanol extracts (P<0.05). The yields and ${\beta}-glucan$ contents of ethanol extracts were lower than those of water extracts, and highest in water extract at pH 10 ($8.53{\pm}0.17%$, $6.20{\pm}0.12g/100g$, respectively). Ethanol extracts of fruiting bodies of G. lucidum showed stronger antioxidant capacities than water extracts (P<0.05). Especially, total phenolic contents of 30% ethanol extract at pH 10 was highest (35.06 GAE mg/g). Total phenolic contents of water and ethanol extracts showed good correlations with DPPH radical scavenging activities (r=0.969).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.707-714
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• 2008

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan on growth performance, immunity and endocrine responses of weanling piglets. One hundred and eighty weanling piglets (Landrace$\times$Large White, $7.20{\pm}0.25kg$ BW and $28{\pm}2$ d of age) were randomly fed 1 of 5 treatment diets containing dietary ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan supplemented at 0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg for 4 wks. Each treatment was replicated in 6 pens containing 6 pigs per pen. On d 14 and 28, body weight gain, feed consumption and feed efficiency were recorded as measures of growth performance. Peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation and serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) were measured to study the effect of dietary ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan supplementation on immune function. Plasma prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), growth hormone (GH) and ghrelin were measured to investigate endocrine response to ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan supplementation. Our results suggest that average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency had a quadratic increase trend with dietary ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan supplementation from d 14 to 28, whereas it had no significant effect on average daily feed intake (ADFI). The treatment group fed with 50 mg/kg dietary ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan supplementation showed a numerical increase in ghrelin, a similar change trend with ADG and no significant effect on GH. Lymphocyte proliferation indices, serum IgG and plasma PGE2 concentrations varied linearly with dietary supplementation levels of ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan on d 14. Higher levels of ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan may have a transient immuno-enhancing effect on the cellular and humoral immune function of weanling piglets via decreased PGE2. Taking into account both immune response and growth performance, the most suitable dietary supplementation level of ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan is 50 mg/kg for weanling piglets.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.1196-1201
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• 2008

A examination of the kinetic properties of UDP-glucose : (1,3)-$\beta$-glucan (callose) synthase from mung bean seedings (Sorbus cortex) shows that these enzymes have a complex interaction with UDP-glucose and various effectors. Deoxynojirimycin increased the inhibitory effect of (1,3)-$\beta$-glucan synthase at the concentration-dependent manner by fluorescence assay. The inhibitory effect of Fr. 2-16 (97.15%) showed higher than that of deoxynojirimycin (80.63%). Fr. 2-3 inhibited the growth of the Candida albicans at 1 mm inhibition zone by disk diffusion method. These results suggest that Sorbus cortex extract can be used as a stable antifungal material.