Yeast Glucan

1. Enhance immunity Since oral yeast glucan is different from other food ingredients, it is not hydrolyzed by acid or enzymes in the stomach and intestines and passes directly through the small intestine. Macrophages on the mucous cells of the small intestine absorb glucan through glucan receptors and then activate these cells. β-1,3-D-glucan works by stimulating macrophages, a type of white blood cell that can play a wide range of roles in protecting and enhancing the immune system, protecting the body from harmful substances. Macrophages are a major type of cell involved in nonspecific immunity. They can engulf foreign particles and destroy them; macrophages also provide signals to other immune cells such as B cells and T cells to move toward infected sites; it can also produce growth factors to repair damaged tissues. The anti-tumor effect of glucan is the result of stimulating the immune system, rather than directly acting on toxic cells of tumors. The advantage of this effect over traditional treatments is that immune cells have the ability to identify and destroy "bad" cells and "foreign invaders", so glucan has little harm to healthy tissues and cells. At present, the main goal of studying anti-cancer function is to enhance the activity and phagocytic ability of macrophages in higher mammalian tissues. One of the functions of yeast glucan is to enhance the ability of macrophages. In 1981, the Norwegian Cancer Research Center and Uppsala University in Sweden compared the immunity of 42 natural polysaccharides and found that glucan extracted from yeast and fungi can increase the phagocytic ability of macrophages in mice by more than 10 times. In subsequent studies, it was pointed out that it has the same effect on the immune effects of other mammals including humans. A large number of animal studies have found that β-glucan can effectively deal with various types of tumors. Such as ovarian cancer, male germ cell tumors, lymphosarcoma, tumor lung metastasis, renal cell carcinoma, etc.
2. Anti-infection and improve disease resistance Since the 1980s, Harvard University has successively shown that β-1,3-D-glucan can help people resist the invasion of various pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Listeria, Pneumocystis carinii, Leishmania and Ascaris. Researchers have also conducted studies on the anti-infection effects of glucan on different animals, such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, pigs, etc., all of which have shown its ability to enhance the body's immunity and improve infection conditions. Yeast β-glucan can significantly increase the effectiveness of antibiotics. When used in combination with antibiotics, its macrophage-stimulating effect can enhance the therapeutic effect of the drug. Experiments on peritonitis in rats have confirmed that rats using β-1,3-D-glucan alone have an 80% survival rate (the survival rate of the control group is 20%), the survival rate of the antibiotic group alone is 65%, and the combined use of the two has a 100% survival rate.
3. Anti-radiation Research by the US Air Force Radiation Biology Institute shows that yeast glucan can help the immune system recover after radiation and quickly improve resistance. After a lethal dose of radiation, all mice in the control group died after 2 weeks, while the mortality rate of mice taking yeast glucan was only 40%. Treating irradiated mice with β-1,3-D-glucan can enhance the mice's ability to recover, improve their bone marrow activity, increase the number of white blood cells, and increase the number of spleen cells. Studies have found that some female breast cancer patients with recurrent chest wall skin ulcers after surgery and radiotherapy can be completely cured after treatment with β-1,3-D-glucan, which is related to the prevention and treatment of post-radiation infection and the promotion of skin growth by glucan.
4. Lowering blood lipids β-1,3-D-glucan has the function of absorbing bile acid and promoting the excretion of bile acid, promoting the conversion of cholesterol to bile acid, and maintaining the normal metabolism of cholesterol. The absorption disorder caused by the viscosity of β-1,3-D-glucan and the increase in the excretion of bile salts by β-1,3-D-glucan may be the two main reasons for the cholesterol-lowering effect of β-1,3-D-glucan.