Comparison of immunological effects of commercially successful beta-glucans
Study performed by prof. Vetvicka
Despite the overwhelming number of scientific reports,
far too many individual beta-glucans have been used that differ widely in source, solubility, molecular
weight, branching and other characteristics. Some of the described
glucans show little activity and some have no biological activities. This led us to perform comparative
review of six different commercially available and commonly used yeast-derived glucans.
The goal of the study was to test the
effects of 14 day glucan oral supplementation on cellular immunity
(phagocytosis and nitric acid production), on humoral immunity (IL-2 production
and antibody formation) and on reduction of breast cancer. Our results demonstrated
that all glucans showed some immunostimulating activity, but there were clear
differences in the strength of these effects. As our
results showed significant differences among tested glucans, we can conclude
that despite the fact that glucans in general have strong stimulating effects
on most aspects of the immune system, it is necessary to choose the right
glucan.
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