Abstract:The β-D-glucan from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a potent biological response modifier. But it is insoluble in water. This is the major obstacle for its application in the food and medical fields. In order to improve the water-solubility of β-D-glucan from S. cerevisiae,mechanical activation was performed here in the solid state by using a planetary ball miller. The water-solubility of β-D-glucan increased sharply from 11% to 37%,as the mechanical force and activation time increased. After mechanical activation,the particle size of β-D-glucan decreased obviously and its morphological structure became to be irregular and rough. The basic chemical structure of β-D-glucan was not destroyed based on FTIR analysis,but the energy of hydrogen bond decreased. These changes would be benefit for β-D-glucan to interact with water molecule and therefore to increase its solubility. Most importantly,the soluble β-D-glucan prepared by this method could significantly stimulate the macrophage cells to secrete TNF-α,IL-6 and NO. Their concentrations were 29.3-,28.3- and 5.6-folds that of the controls,respectively. These results indicate that mechanical activation is a simple,environmentally friendly and efficient method to improve water-solubility of β-D-glucan.
