Beta-Glucan immune system stimulants

A new nutritional product made from 1-3,1-6 beta-glucan is one of the most exciting things happening today in the field of nutritional supplements and immuno stimulants.

"1,3-1,6 Beta Glucan is a powerful immune-enhancing nutritional supplement. This unique compound stimulates the innate immune system to help the body defend itself against viral and bacterial invaders.

What is 1,3-1,6 Beta Glucan? Beta Glucan is a scientifically-proven biological defence modifier (BDM) that potentiates the immune response through macrophage and dendritic immune cells to safely yield various therapeutic effects. For many years glucans have been investigated for these immune enhancing properties, particularly their ability to activate macrophage immune cells and, in turn, the T-cells, NK cells and B cells including selected cytokines and complement." More info on Wikipedia here.
 

Click here for Hazel Courteney's article
about diet and nutrition in Aug 2008 which concludes:
'Beta glucans are a great breakthrough in improving immune function - protecting us against infection, cancer and allergies.'
 

Dr Paul Clayton is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine and a former Senior Scientific Advisor to the UK government's Committee on the Safety of Medicines and has done considerable research on both the immuno stimulation and anti-ageing aspects of beta glucan and says:

"As with the immune system overall, therefore, a comprehensive
micronutrient support programme is a good foundation. Onto that
foundation you can add a second layer of very specific innate immune
support agents. They include vitamin D, the trace element selenium,
the plant extract beta-sitosterol, and the 1-3, 1-6 beta glucans
derived from yeast.

These beta glucans are increasingly becoming an essential part of the right modern diet and have other far reaching benefits ranging from skin care to virus protection." Dr Paul Clayton

1-3, 1-6 beta glucans and related molecules are found in many natural sources known to have immuno-stimulant properties. Shiitake and Maitake mushrooms, Echinacea and Saccharomyes cerevisiae (Bakers yeast) have all been traditionally used as immuno-stimulants, but recent research by the Pentagon put Saccharomyces at the top of the list.

As a result, some supplement companies have developed beta glucan products derived from Saccharomyces. But these are not all equally effective. The amount of beta glucans per capsule is sometimes cited as the key criterion of quality, or the percentage, or the particle size; but the truth is that none of these is completely accurate...

 
Full report and references here.