Yeast Glucan and Immunity
The immune system of humans and animals is a self-defense system that can defend against foreign bacterial, viral, and harmful infections that damage our bodies. The immune system works through a number of immune cells and immune factors. B cells and T cells recognize specific antigens by secreting immune factors such as antibodies, and inactivate them by binding to antigens; macrophages and NK cells can phagocytose these labeled antigens and some cells.
Orally administered yeast glucans, unlike other food components, pass directly through the small intestine without being hydrolyzed by acids or enzymes in the stomach and intestines. Macrophages on the mucous cells of the small intestine take up glucan through glucan receptors and immediately activate these cells. Beta-1,3-glucan works by stimulating macrophages, a type of white blood cell that plays a broad role in protecting and strengthening the immune system, protecting the body from possible health hazards. Macrophages are a major class of cells involved in nonspecific immunity. It devours foreign particles and destroys them. Macrophages also provide signals to other immune cells, such as B and T cells, to move as if infected. It also produces growth factors to repair damaged cells
The main goal of yeast beta glucan is to enhance the activity of macrophages in higher mammalian tissues and one of the functions of phagocytosing yeast glucan, which is to enhance the ability of macrophages. In 1981, the Norwegian Research Center and Uppsala University in Sweden compared the immunity of 42 kinds of natural polysaccharides and found that glucan extracted from yeast and fungi could increase the phagocytic ability of macrophages in mice by more than 10 times. Later studies pointed out that the immune effects of other mammals, including humans, have the same results.
