Extraction of β-glucan of Hericium erinaceus, Avena sativa L., and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in vivo evaluation of their immunomodulatory effects

Beta-glucan (BG) is one of the most common types of polysaccharides, and is a potent immune activator. It is present in microbes, plants, and mushrooms. The immunomodulatory properties of BG are varied among different species. This paper explains the composition of BG from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae HII31), oat (Avena sativa L.) and mushroom (Hericium erinaceus), and also describes in vivo immunomodulation and changes in the antioxidant capacity of BG. In vivo studies were conducted in BALB/cMlac mice, and changes in cytokines level, antioxidant enzymes, and total antioxidant capacity were evaluated. About 91.42 +/- 5.07, 86.90 +/- 3.44, and 84.43 +/- 4.10% of BG were recorded in yeast, mushroom, and oat samples, respectively, with 4-5% of alpha-glucan in all the samples. The band area range ratio analysis indicate that yeast and mushroom have a high content of beta-1,3-glucan followed by beta-1,6-glucan, whereas oat recorded a high content of beta-1,4-glucan. Yeast-BG stimulated the expression of IL-6, IL-17, IFN-gamma, IL-10, and TGF-beta effectively. Moreover, antioxidant capacity was enhanced during yeast-BG supplementation in a dose-dependent manner than oat and mushroom BG. This study reveals that yeast-BG is a potent immune activator and enhancer of the host's antioxidant capacity than oat, and mushroom-BG.