J Korean Med Sci.  2006 Oct;21(5):781-789. 10.3346/jkms.2006.21.5.781.

Biomedical Issues of Dietary fiber beta-Glucan

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Family Medicine, Hallym University, College of Medicine, Chunchon, Korea. rohyk@hallym.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Family Medicine, Korea University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

beta-Glucan is a polysaccharide in the form of fiber and the main element of fiber in grains such as barley, oats, yeast and mushrooms. Many studies have examined the efficacy of beta-Glucan in terms of the lipid lowering effects, blood sugar reduction, weight reduction, immune modulator, and anticarcinogenic effect. However, there is no comprehensive review article on the biomedical issues regarding beta-Glucan. The authors searched for systematic reviews and clinical experiments for each relevant topic and reviewed the biomedical effects of beta-Glucan, for the purpose of developing research strategies for the future.

Keyword

beta-Glucans; Cholesterol; Glucose; Weight Loss; Weight Reductions; Anticarcinogenic Agents

MeSH Terms

beta-Glucans/administration & dosage/*pharmacology/therapeutic use
Neoplasms/drug therapy
Infection/drug therapy
Humans
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Dietary Supplements
Dietary Fiber/administration & dosage/*pharmacology/therapeutic use
Cholesterol/blood
Body Weight/drug effects
Blood Glucose/analysis
Anticholesteremic Agents/pharmacology
Animals

Figure

  • Fig. 1 β-glucan from oat.


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