β-Glucan

Abstract

β-glucans are a key active ingredient in mushrooms and are also found in oats, barley, yeast, bacteria and algae. In microbial sources, they are a structural component and in grain sources, they are found in the endospermic and aleuronic walls [1][2][3]. The therapeutic potential of foods containing the polysaccharide beta-glucan (β-glucans) has long been considered. Specifically, the medicinal properties of mushrooms—a major source β-glucans—were detailed in manuscripts from India dating back 500 years [4]. A popular mushroom known as Agaricus blazeii is native to a small area of the mountains of Brazil near Sao Paulo. More recently, apparent lower incidences of cancers, viral and bacterial-induced illnesses, and increased life spans seen in people living in a small area of the mountains of Brazil near Sao Paulo were attributed by some to the ingestion of this popular local mushroom known as Agaricus blazeii [4]. There are at least 700 species of mushrooms like A. blazeii that are considered to possess medicinal properties.