Structural Characterization, Technological Functionality, and Physiological Aspects of Fungal ß-D-glucans: A Review.

ß-D-glucans are a (1→3)-linked glucose polymer with (1→6)-linked side chains and a major component of fungal cell walls. They exhibit structural integrity to the fungal cell wall. In addition, ß-glucans are widely used as food adjuvant in food and pharmaceutical industries because of their physico-chemical properties. Several studies have focused on different isolation processes of (1→3) (1→6)-ß-glucan that could affect the physico-chemical and functional properties of ß-glucan such as chemical composition, solubility, viscosity, hydration properties, and oil binding capacity. Immunological activity is one of the most important properties of ß-glucans. Thus, they are effective in inhibiting growth of cancer cells and metastasis and preventing bacterial infection. In humans, ß-glucans reduce blood cholesterol, improve glucose absorption by body cells, and so help wound healing. This review described the prebiotic potentiality of fungal ß-D-glucans with the objective to detail the methodologies applied for their extraction, their structure and techno-functional properties, and finally their biological effects.

Physical, functional and structural characterization of the cell wall fractions from baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The yeast cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important source of ß-d-glucan, a glucose homopolymer with many functional, nutritional and human health benefits. In the present study, the yeast cell wall fractionation process involving enzymatic treatments (savinase and lipolase enzymes) affected most of the physical and functional characteristics of extracted fractions. Thus, the fractionation process showed that ß-d-glucan fraction F4 had significantly higher swelling power and fat binding capacity compared to other fractions (F1, F2 and F3). It also exhibited a viscosity of 652.12mPas and a high degree of brightness of extracted ß-d-glucan fraction. Moreover, the fractionation process seemed to have an effect on structural and thermal properties of extracted fractions. Overall, results showed that yeast ß-d-glucan had good potential for use as a prebiotic ingredient in food, as well as medicinal and pharmaceutical products.

Enzymatic process for the fractionation of baker's yeast cell wall (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).

ß-Glucans, homopolymers of glucose, are widespread in many microorganisms, mushrooms and plants. They have attracted attention because of their bioactive and medicinal functions. One important source of ß-glucans is the cell wall of yeasts, especially that of baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Several processes for the isolation of ß-glucans, using alkali, acid or a combination of both, result in degradation of the polymeric chains. In this paper, we have an enzymatic process for the isolation of glucans from yeast cell walls. As a result, ß-glucans were obtained in a yield of 18.0% of the original ratio in the yeast cell walls. Therefore, this isolation process gave a better yield and higher ß-glucan content than did traditional isolation methods. Furthermore, results showed that each extraction step of ß-glucan had a significant effects on its chemical properties.