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Hi

I'm wondering if anyone here takes Beta Glucan and if it's helped and if so how?

cheers

Choco

I haven't taken it as a supplement however it's very high in oats/oatmeal in which i've eaten a ton of over these years and have never noticed it helping or hurting. If i'm correct doesn't beta glucan stimulate the immune system (t-cells)??

Just bumping this up. I have been looking at this and would like to hear others' experiences if there are any. I understand that there is some confusion about certain products overstimulating the immune system. From what I've read this is considered an adaptogen and can actually benefit someone with MS?

Serena

Were you able to find any good research on beta-glucan?

This review article discusses beta-glucan with respect to cancer. It activates proinflammatory pathways, e.g., NF-kB, IL2, IL12, thereby stimulating white blood cells. Beta-glucan is found in the cell walls of fungi such as mushrooms as well as in bacteria. Eating mushrooms is probably ok as long as it's not in therapeutic doses. I think that avoiding a beta-glucan supplement may also be a good idea.



The effects of β-glucan on human immune and cancer cells
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 2-2-25.pdf

• Non-prescriptional use of medicinal herbs among cancer patients is common around the world. The alleged anti-cancer effects of most herbal extracts are mainly based on studies derived from in vitro or in vivo animal experiments. The current information suggests that these herbal extracts exert their biological effect either through cytotoxic or immunomodulatory mechanisms. One of the active compounds responsible for the immune effects of herbal products is in the form of complex polysaccharides known as ß-glucans. ß-glucans are ubiquitously found in both bacterial or fungal cell walls and have been implicated in the initiation of anti-microbial immune response. Based on in vitro studies, ß-glucans act on several immune receptors including Dectin-1, complement receptor (CR3) and TLR-2/6 and trigger a group of immune cells including macrophages, neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells and dendritic cells. As a consequence, both innate and adaptive response can be modulated by ß -glucans and they can also enhance opsonic and non-opsonic phagocytosis. In animal studies, after oral administration, the specific backbone 1 _3 linear ß-glycosidic chain of ß-glucans cannot be digested. Most ß-glucans enter the proximal small intestine and some are captured by the macrophages. They are internalized and fragmented within the cells, then transported by the macrophages to the marrow and endothelial reticular system. The small ß-glucans fragments are eventually released by the macrophages and taken up by other immune cells leading to various immune responses. However, ß-glucans of different sizes and branching patterns may have significantly variable immune potency. Careful selection of appropriate ß-glucans is essential if we wish to investigate the effects of ß-glucans clinically. So far, no good quality clinical trial data is available on assessing the effectiveness of purified ß-glucans among cancer patients. Future effort should direct at performing well-designed clinical trials to verify the actual clinical efficacy of ß-glucans or ß-glucans containing compounds.

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