Cereal β‐glucan: a promising prebiotic polysaccharide and its impact on the gut health

Abstract

Recently, polysaccharides dietary fibres have emerged as promised functional and nutraceutical food ingredients due to their several health boosting properties. Cereal β‐glucan is a water‐soluble, prebiotic, and bioactive polysaccharide dietary fibre that has a tendency to play a significant role in health regulation. β‐glucans from cereal sources have a number of unique functional properties i.e. higher solubility, viscosity, and tendency to completely be fermented by gut microbiota. These functional characteristics show promising positive effects on human health, such as cancer prevention, anti‐inflammatory activity, skin‐protection, antioxidant, immune‐modulation, and reduction of glycaemia and serum cholesterol. The present review primarily focuses on the prophylactic and therapeutic role of cereal β‐glucans on gut health in terms of its barrier permeability, modulation of gut microbiota, the intestinal immune system, and intestinal inflammation, colon cancer protection and short‐chain fatty acids production. Cereal β‐glucans principally perform different biological actions through specific cytokines and hormones regulation.

Full text

Review
Cereal b-glucan: a promising prebiotic polysaccharide and its
impact on the gut health
Mahtab Shoukat
1
*& Angela Sorrentino
2
1 Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples ‘Federico II’, Via Universit
a 100, Portici, Italy
2 Centre for Food Innovation and Development in the Food Industry, University of Naples Federico II, Via Universit
a 133, Parco Gussone,
Portici 80055, Italy
(Received 13 August 2020; Accepted in revised form 8 January 2021)
Summary Recently, polysaccharides dietary fibres have emerged as promised functional and nutraceutical food
ingredients due to their several health boosting properties. Cereal b-glucan is a water-soluble, prebiotic
and bioactive polysaccharide dietary fibre that has a tendency to play a significant role in health regula-
tion. b-glucans from cereal sources have a number of unique functional properties, that is higher solubil-
ity, viscosity and tendency to completely be fermented by gut microbiota. These functional characteristics
show promising positive effects on human health, such as cancer prevention, anti-inflammatory activity,
skin protection, antioxidant, immune modulation and reduction of glycaemia and serum cholesterol. The
present review primarily focuses on the prophylactic and therapeutic role of cereal b-glucans on gut health
in terms of its barrier permeability, modulation of gut microbiota, the intestinal immune system and
intestinal inflammation, colon cancer protection and short-chain fatty acids production. Cereal b-glucans
principally perform different biological actions through specific cytokines and hormones regulation.
Keywords Cereal b-glucans, dietary fibre, gut health, gut microbiota, prebiotic, short-chain fatty acids.
Introduction
In recent few years, nutrition in terms of a balanced
diet emerged as one of the main regulators of human
health, particularly in the management of complex
metabolic syndrome (Gong et al., 2018). Metabolic
syndrome is a group of metabolic disorder diseases
such as obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2, dyslipi-
daemia, hyperglycaemia and hypertension that is sig-
nificantly increasing in the western world (Rebello
et al., 2014). Gut microbiota can play an unprece-
dented role in the management of various metabolic
disorders by intestinal maturation, improving immune
response, cracking nutrients from diet over the diges-
tion of complex polysaccharides and gut protection
from enteric pathogens (Barko et al., 2018; Cerqueira
et al., 2020). Indeed, the human gut microbial commu-
nity composition and homeostasis have an intense and
intimate linkage to human physiological functions and
health (Clemente et al., 2012). The human gut micro-
biota is mainly supported by non-digestible food com-
ponents (Tamura et al., 2017). Dietary fibre and plant
polyphenols are the leading food constituents
metabolised by the bacteria (Jalil et al., 2019).
Recently, dietary interposition has appeared as an
impressive strategy to modulate the gut microbiota to
upgrade the host health (Vieira et al., 2016). Among
the food components, cereal dietary fibre is one of the
principal constituents with prebiotic characteristics
that act as substrate for gut microorganisms to pro-
vide a health benefit (Carlson et al., 2017). Human
digestive enzymes do not hydrolyse dietary fibre, but
gut microbes act upon it producing vitamins, short-
chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and other metabolites.
These metabolites can both become a substratum for
other microbes or be addressed to the host’s blood-
stream, influencing the metabolic control, gene expres-
sion, cell proliferation, apoptosis, chemotaxis and
differentiation of cells (Ursell et al., 2012; Den Besten
et al., 2013). Several studies have demonstrated that
the increasing of SCFAs levels is positively related to
enhanced insulin sensitivity, weight control manage-
ment and reduction of inflammation, all factors able
to minimise the risk of developing metabolic diseases
(Myhrstad et al., 2020).
Recent studies have indicated cereal b-glucans as
well-recognised bioactive carbohydrates with manifold
functions and recommended as potential prebiotics. In
*Correspondent: E-mail: mahtabshoukat007@gmail.com
International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2021
doi:10.1111/ijfs.14971
©2021 Institute of Food Science and Technology
1

fact, cereal b-glucans undergoes complete fermentation
that facilitates gut microbiota due to their prebiotic
activity (Lam et al., 2018). Cereal b-glucans have
promising prophylactic and therapeutic properties such
as anticancer, antidiabetic, immune-modulatory, anti-
inflammatory and skin protectors (Clemente et al.,
2012; Shen et al., 2016; Jayachandran et al., 2018).
Cereal b-glucan belongs to the soluble fibre group,
which is of important physiological significance
because its consumption is directly linked to the reduc-
tion of both cholesterol and postprandial glucose con-
centrations (Atanasov et al., 2020). Moreover, blood
glucose and cholesterol regulation health claims of cer-
eal b-glucan have been recognised by European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) and U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) in 2011 (Henrion et al., 2019).
Cereal b-glucan has the ability to make the intestinal
lumen highly viscous; this slows down gastric empty-
ing, and reduces the absorption of glucose, food lipids
and bile acids (Havrlentova & Kraic, 2006).
As cereal b-glucan has promising prophylactic and
therapeutic potential to inhibit various metabolic dis-
orders through improving the gut health, this article
presents a comprehensive review of impact of cereal b-
glucans on the intestinal environment and mechanism
of action to exert its health beneficial effects.
Chemical structure of cereal b-glucan
Cereal b-glucan is a soluble dietary fibre, largely found
in the cell walls of the endosperm and aleurone layer
of oat and barley grains. However, other cereals such
as rye and wheat contain lower concentration of b-glu-
can (Havrlentova & Kraic, 2006). The structure con-
sists of D-glucose residues bound with mixed linkage
b-(1 ?3, 1 ?4), which differentiate its structure
from that of cellulose and enable the water solubility
of the polymer. This is essential for the ability of
b-glucan to generate viscosity in aqueous solutions
(Du et al., 2019). Structurally, cereal b-glucan is a
linear homo polysaccharide of D-glucopyranose
arranged as cellulosic blocks of b-(1 ?4)-linked glu-
cose units, linked by single b-(1 ?3) linkages (Fig. 1)
(Du et al., 2019). The biological functionality of b-glu-
cans depends upon primary structure, molecular
weight, polymer charge, degree of branching, solubility
and viscosity (Atanasov et al., 2020). The cereal b-glu-
cans are predominantly linear and unbranched
polysaccharides. In food industry, most of the process-
ing operations cause some degree of damage to the
cereal b-glucan structure, which results in the decrease
of b-glucans molecular weight and loss of viscosity.
Fermentation, baking and frying are typical processes
that can lead to the degradation of b-glucans and,
therefore, the deriving products contain moderately or
extensively degraded b-glucans (Henrion et al., 2019).
In addition, food processing, especially those at high
temperatures, may generate the oxidation of hydroxyl
groups of the glucose monomers in b-glucans, leading
to the formation of carbonyl or carboxyl groups or
even to ring opening. However, oxidation can improve
the cereal b-glucan’s physical and health boosting
properties (Marasca et al., 2020).
Technological and nutraceutical value of cereal b-glucan
In recent years, functional and nutraceutical foods are
the core focus in food research due to their vast prophy-
lactic and therapeutic potential against various ail-
ments. Cereal b-glucans are one of the highly
favourable food ingredients, due to their many techno-
logical and health supporting properties (Jayachandran
et al., 2018). In the food industry, cereal b-glucans are
largely used in the preparation of beverages, sauces,
soups and other foodstuffs due to their stabilising,
thickening, emulsification and gelation properties. Bak-
ing industry utilised cereal b-glucan in the preparation
of bread and cakes to enhance their physical properties
and increase the quantity and volume of bread loafs
(Zhu et al., 2016). Mosele et al. (2018) highlighted the
Figure 1 Basic structure of b-glucans in cereals combined with glycosidic linkage b-(1 ?3) and b-(1 ?4).
©2021 Institute of Food Science and TechnologyInternational Journal of Food Science and Technology 2021
Prebiotic effect of b-glucan on the gut health M. Shoukat and A. Sorrentino2

protective effect of barley b-glucans at the lower level of
colon through in vitro digestion of barley-based crack-
ers, cookies and fresh pasta. Addition of b-glucans in
the low-fat ice creams and yogurts improved their tex-
ture and rheological properties (Jayachandran et al.,
2018). The cholesterol-lowering effect of cereal b-glu-
cans is well documented (Henrion et al., 2019). Oat
b-glucan’s cholesterol-lowering mechanism is mainly
based on SCFA (propionate) production through gut
microbiota (Joyce et al., 2019). The gut microbiota
metabolises the fibres and gives the host the SCFA. The
increase in the propionate-to-acetic acid ratio (main
substratum for biosynthesis of cholesterol) results in
decreased biosynthesis of cholesterols (Theuwissen &
Mensink, 2008). Besides, b-glucans derived from cereals
are helpful in promoting skin health, as cereal b-glucans
can strengthen the skin owing to their antioxidant, anti-
wrinkle, anti-ultraviolet, wound healing and moisturis-
ing properties (Du et al., 2014).
Effect of cereal b-glucans on Gut health
Human gut is considered as second brain and vital in
the proper body functions. Cereal b-glucan may signif-
icantly boost the work efficiency of different parts of
the human gut through producing various biological
compounds. Several authors have studied the beneficial
effects of b-glucans from cereals on human gut
(Fig. 2). Table 1 summarises the main effects discussed
in the most recent studies.
Figure 2 Effect of cereal b-glucan on gut health.
©2021 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2021
Prebiotic effect of b-glucan on the gut health M. Shoukat and A. Sorrentino 3

Modulation of gut microbiota
The commensal bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract
(GIT) perform multiple functions from tissues forma-
tion to breaking down indigestible carbohydrates,
immune system development, vitamins synthesis, inhi-
bit the colonisation of pathogens and barrier function
of the intestine (Clemente et al., 2012; Jayachandran
et al., 2018; Atanasov et al., 2020). Any change in the
gut microbiota composition and diversity may cause
dysbiosis that leads to several metabolic disorders
(Carding et al., 2015). However, complex dietary fibre,
particularly b-glucan from oat and barley, supported
the growth of both Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria spp.
that may helpful in to retard dysbiosis. In an in vivo
study, 52 healthy volunteers were subjected to 0.75 g
of barley b-glucan per day for 30 days. There was
significant increase in the count of Bifidobacteria spp
(Mitsou et al., 2010). Similarly, in another clinical
study administration of b-glucan-rich durum wheat
flour and whole-grain barley pasta increased the levels
of Roseburia hominis,Ruminococcus ssp and Clostridi-
aceae spp. Additionally, Fusobacteria and Firmicutes
population was lowered (De Angelis et al., 2015). For-
tification of yoghurt with b-glucans of barley and oats
resulted in an increase in the growth and viability of
Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis (Vasiljevic et al.,
2007).
A double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT was con-
ducted with 43 high-risk or diagnosed individuals with
metabolic syndrome. The participants consumed bread
containing 6g of barley b-glucans or bread without
b-glucans during a four-week intervention time.
Supplementation of b-glucans resulted in the change
Table 1 Main beneficial effects of cereal b-glucan as reported by the most recent studies
Cereal b-Glucan impact
on Gut Health Health Benefits References
Modulation of Gut microbiota Significant increase in the Bifidobacteria spp Mitsou et al. (2010)
↑Roseburia hominis,Ruminococcus ssp, Clostridiaceae spp.
↓Fusobacteria and Firmicutes
De Angelis et al. (2015)
↑Bifidobacterium spp. and Akkermansia municiphila Velikonja et al. (2019)
↑Bacteroidetes and ↓Firmicutes Wang et al. (2016)
↑Bifidobacterium
↓Bacteroides/Prevotella and Lactobacillus
Mikkelsen et al. (2017)
↑Prevotella and Roseburia Fehlbaum et al. (2018).
↑Clostridium, and Butyricoccus,↓Bacteroides,Lactobacillus,
Oscillospira,andRuminococcus
Zhu et al. (2020)
Boosting short-chain fatty
acid (SCFA) synthesis
No change in SCFAs Levels Valeur et al. (2016)
↑Acetate, Propionate and Butyrate production,
↑1.4 ~3.4-fold caecal and colonic lactate
Hong et al. (2016)
↑Butyrate concentration Nie et al. (2017)
↑Propionate production (4.76 µmol mL
1
) Carlson et al. (2017)
↑SCFAs Levels in stool Thandapilly et al. (2018)
↑SCFAs Levels in colon Chen et al. (2019)
↑Concentrations of acetate and n-butyrate, ↑Total SCFAs Aoe et al. (2019)
↑Concentrations of SCFAs (especially, Butyrate) Miyamoto et al. (2018)
Improve the gut
permeability flux
100 nm latex beads reduction in intestinal permeability. Mackie et al. (2016)
↑Plasma concentration of GLP-2 (Intestinal barrier Biomarker) Nilsson et al. (2015)
No change in GLP-2 level Nilsson et al. (2016)
No effect on intestinal permeability Skouroliakou et al. (2016).
Reduction in intestinal
inflammation
↑Pro-inflammatory markers Therkelsen et al. (2016)
↓Inflammatory markers, improved the cytokine and chemokine
signalling pathways
_
Zyła et al. (2019)
Low molar mass b-glucan reduced the colon inflammation Kopiasz et al. (2020)
Colon cancer protection ↑Apoptosis of tumour cells Shen et al. (2016).
↓LT97 cells (colon adenoma cells), ↑caspase-3 activity (6.3 times) Schl€
ormann et al. (2020)
↑Phagocytosis and IL-2 secretion Vetvicka & Vetvickova (2020)
Cereal b-glucan as
immunomodulator
↑Chemokine production and expression of adhesion molecules Ramakers et al. (2007)
↓IL-12 production in colon, Wilczak et al. (2015).
↑THP-1 macrophages
↓pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1b).
Arena et al. (2016)
Yeast b-glucan has higher immunomodulatory effect than oat
b-glucan
Chaiyasut et al. (2018)
©2021 Institute of Food Science and TechnologyInternational Journal of Food Science and Technology 2021
Prebiotic effect of b-glucan on the gut health M. Shoukat and A. Sorrentino4

of the SCFA production, the composition of gut micro-
biota, lowering the diversity and richness of the micro-
bial populations. Three participants exhibited a
considerable increase in gram-negative bacteria from
the genus Prevotella. The pre-intervention gut micro-
biota composition presented abundance of Bifidobac-
terium spp. and Akkermansia municiphila in
cholesterol-responsive group (Velikonja et al., 2019).
Mikkelsen et al. (2017) supplemented hypercholester-
aemic rats with four different diets, that is cellulose
(control), purified barley low (LMW, 100 or 150 kDa)
and medium (MMW, 530 kDa) molecular weight b-
glucan and glucagel (75% b-glucan) for four weeks. All
the b-glucan diets enhanced the caecal production of
SCFAs compared to the control diet. The glucagel and
LMW b-glucan diets roused the population of Bifi-
dobacterium in the caecum, while the MMW b-glucan
diet decreased the population of both Bacteroides/Pre-
votella and Lactobacillus in the caecum compared to
the control diet. In another in vivo comparative study,
in which fifty rats were fed with oat b-glucan, oat resis-
tant starch and whole oat foods, all the three products
changed the gut microbiota composition with increased
genus Clostridium and Butyricoccus, but decreased
genus Bacteroides,Lactobacillus,Oscillospira and
Ruminococcus (Zhu et al., 2020). Wang et al. (2016)
conducted an in vivo RCT in which 30 individuals con-
sumed a breakfast containing 3 g of high molecular
weight barley b-glucan (HMW), 3 g or 5 g of LMW
barley b-glucan, or wheat and rice for 5 weeks. The
results indicated that 3 g/days of HMW b-glucan
intake at the phylum level increased Bacteroidetes and
decreased Firmicutes populations compared to control,
while, at the genus level, increased Bacteroides and Pre-
votella. However, diets containing 5 g and 3 g of LMW
b-glucan did not alter the gut microbiota composition.
An in vitro fermentation screening platform was inocu-
lated with six healthy adult faecal microbiota and
exposed to inulin, alpha- and beta-linked galacto-
oligosaccharides, xylo-oligosaccharides from corn cobs
and high-fibre sugar cane and b-glucan from oats.
b-glucan exhibited significant effects on the microbial
composition and metabolism compared to the other
fibres. b-glucan enhanced the growth of Prevotella and
Roseburia with a parallel rise in the propionate produc-
tion (Fehlbaum et al., 2018).
Boosting short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) synthesis
Fermentation of b-glucans by microbes in the lower
part of the small intestine and in the colon results in
the production of SCFAs (Thandapilly et al., 2018)
which have various positive effects on GIT and human
health (Den Besten et al., 2013). More specifically,
SCFAs are involved in the reduction of gut pH and
luminal oxygen levels, improve water and ions
absorption, strengthen tight junction proteins and
modify villi height: crypt depth ratio, enhance innate
and adaptive immunity, increase energy availability to
the mucosa cells and increase mucus thickening (Ade-
bowale et al., 2019) (Fig. 3). Cereal b-glucan can be
100% and more quickly fermented than other dietary
fibres due its chemical structure. The major products
of the b-glucan fermentation are acetate, propionate
and butyrate (Drzikova et al., 2005). However, in the
colon, fermentation of undigested carbohydrates also
results in the formation of lactic acid (a non-SCFA),
but Eubacterium hallii is able to inhibit the colon accu-
mulation of lactic acid (Flint et al., 2015). Dong et al.
(2017) mentioned that the fermentation profile of b-
glucans depends upon the molecular weight. As low
molecular weight of oat b-glucans produce a higher
total SCFA concentration and vice versa, butyrate is
the colon’s key source of energy for the epithelial cells
and has a high anticarcinogenic potential. Further-
more, it is stated that butyrate may also have an anti-
inflammatory effect in intestinal cells along with
improving intestinal barrier flux. Nie et al. (2017) men-
tioned that consumption of oat b-glucan for 4 weeks
significantly increased the faecal butyrate concentra-
tion in ulcerative colitis patients. In another study,
barley b-glucan administration in 30 volunteers with
mild hypercholesterolaemia resulted in a significant
increase in SCFA levels in stool samples (Thandapilly
et al., 2018). Chen et al. (2019) demonstrated the effect
of barley b-glucan through mouse in vivo model. Bar-
ley b-glucan treatment improved the colon length and
the concentration of SCFAs in mice colon and caecum
sections. However, oatmeal porridge feeding in 10 sub-
jects for one week showed no significant change in
microbial fermentation evaluated by determination of
total SCFA concentration (Valeur et al., 2016).
Miyamoto et al. (2018) conducted an in vivo study
in which 4-week-old mice were subjected to a high fat
diet with 20% barley flour containing 2% b-glucan.
Additionally, mice were fed either with 5% cellulose
or 5% barley b-glucan for 12 weeks. This resulted in
changing the gut microbiota and increasing SCFAs
(especially, butyrate) thus decreasing the food intake
and improving insulin sensitivity. Aoe et al. (2019)
found that the barley line BM, that is combination of
three fermentable fibres (fructan, b-glucan and resis-
tant starch), not only improved the microbiota in cae-
cal and distal colonic digesta but also increased the
SCFAs production as compared to b-glucan barley
line BG. In this in vivo study, rats were supplemented
with BG and BM for four weeks. The concentrations
of acetate and n-butyrate in caecal digesta were con-
siderably higher in both BM and BG groups, while the
concentration of total SCFAs in caecal digesta was sig-
nificantly higher in the BM than that of the BG group.
Carlson et al. (2017) compared the fermentability
©2021 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2021
Prebiotic effect of b-glucan on the gut health M. Shoukat and A. Sorrentino 5

potential of five fibres, that is pure b-glucan, Oatwell
(22% oat b-glucan), xylo-oligosaccharides, whole fibres
(dried chicory root containing inulin, pectin, and
hemi-celluloses) and pure inulin using an in vitro fer-
mentation system measuring changes in faecal micro-
biota, total gas production and formation of common
SCFAs. Oatwell showed the highest production of
propionate at 12 h (4.76 µmol mL
1
) compared to
inulin, whole fibres and xylo-oligosaccharides. Oatwell
and pure b-glucan’s effect were similar in terms of
highest mean propionate production at 24 h. Supple-
mentation of 1% or 5% (w/w) b-glucan diets to rats
for 3 weeks induced a notable increase in colonic con-
tents in a dose-dependent manner. 5% b-glucan diets
increased the levels of acetate, propionate and butyrate
by 1.8, 1.7 and 3.0 times in the caecum and 2.2, 2.9
and 3.1 times than the control group in the colon,
respectively. Furthermore, b-glucan diets also substan-
tially improved the levels of caecal and colonic lactate
by 1.4 ~3.4 times (Hong et al., 2016).
Improve the gut permeability flux
Under anaerobic conditions in colon, excessive con-
sumption of dietary carbohydrates results in pyruvate
production, a product of carbohydrates metabolism.
This molecule is utilised by gut microbiota that pro-
duce acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is a toxic metabolite
that can increase intestinal permeability (Skouroliakou
et al., 2016). Gut barrier functionality is governed by
integrity of its intestinal components like intestinal
mucosa, intestinal epithelium, microbiome, the Lamina
propria and the intestinal immune system (K€
onig
et al., 2016). The intestinal viscous mucus mainly
includes cross-linked mucins, antimicrobial factors
(lysozyme, secretory immunoglobulin A and antimicro-
bial proteins) and trefoil peptides. These trefoil pep-
tides provide an extra physical and chemical shield to
protect the intestinal epithelium against pathogenic
microorganisms (Wells et al., 2017).
Various studies have indicated a positive relation-
ship between the cereal b-glucan products and gut bar-
rier function. Mackie et al. (2016) conducted a study
in which each group of five pigs were fed a standard
diet (0.7% cereal b-glucan) and oat bran diet (8.7%
oat b-glucan) for 3 days. The collected samples of
small intestine mucus and tissue samples were sub-
jected to in vitro digestion to determine b-glucan
release, nutrient profile and assessment of mucus per-
meability. In vitro digestion results indicated that 90%
Figure 3 Summary of cereal b-glucan fermentation products in large intestine i.e. SCFAs and their beneficial effects on gut health.
©2021 Institute of Food Science and TechnologyInternational Journal of Food Science and Technology 2021
Prebiotic effect of b-glucan on the gut health M. Shoukat and A. Sorrentino6

of the b-glucan was released in the proximal small
intestine. Intestinal mucus dimensions depicted a
100 nm latex beads reduction in intestinal permeabil-
ity. Additionally, another in vivo intervention study, 20
healthy subjects were administered with a standardised
barley seed bread breakfast that contained 6.6 g sol-
uble non-starch polysaccharides per day, for three
days. The results showed an increase in plasma con-
centration of GLP-2, a peptide known as biomarker of
intestinal barrier function and involved in the epithe-
lial cell propagation and intestinal growth (Nilsson
et al., 2015). In contrast, another in vivo study on 21
students also fed with barley seed bread, containing
5.0 g soluble non-starch polysaccharides per day, for
four days, indicated that there was no significant effect
on GLP-2 (Nilsson et al., 2016). In double-blind ran-
domised controlled trial (RCT), 23 volunteers were
monitored during the daily consumption of barley
b-glucan administered as one portion of fortified cake,
for one month. The authors mentioned that barley
b-glucans did not exert a protective effect in intestinal
permeability of healthy adults (Skouroliakou et al.,
2016).
Reduction in intestinal inflammation
b-glucans from cereals, bacteria yeasts and fungi sup-
pressed the pro-inflammatory markers expression in
the colon, ameliorate the colitis clinical symptoms and
maintained the gut integrity from epithelial changes,
wounds and leucocyte infiltration (Atanasov et al.,
2020). Butyrate protects tight junction proteins and
improves the integrity of the gut barrier. However, an
increase in gut barrier permeability may cause intesti-
nal inflammation (Morrison & Preston, 2016). The
elimination of macrophage-mediated phagocytosis by
soluble b-glucan is linked to a failure in PKC-bII by
b-glucan translocation. Oats b-glucan with low molec-
ular weight resulted in a decrease in enteritis groups in
rats, primarily due to increased antioxidant defences
(Wilczak et al., 2015). b-glucans with high molecular
weight activate leucocytes directly and modulate the
development of pro-inflammatory cytokines and
chemokines, while those with low MW activate leuco-
cytes by stimulating nuclear transcription factors (Bai
et al., 2019). In an in vivo RCT, 50 inflammatory
bowel disease patients treated with a mushroom b-glu-
can resulted in satisfactory improvement in pro-inflam-
matory markers (Therkelsen et al., 2016). Kopiasz
et al. (2020) conducted an in vivo study on 150 rats
divided into two groups as healthy control and suffer-
ing from colitis. The animals fed as three subgroups,
with AIN-93M feed without b-glucan (bG) or with
1% (w/w) of low (bGl+) or high (bGh+) molar mass
oat b-glucan for 3, 7 or 21 days. The blood samples
analysis showed small changes in lymphocytes count
and red blood cells, as well as normalisation of antiox-
idant activity. Moreover, oat bGl was more effective
to reduce the colon inflammation. Moreover, when
rats received 1% of bGl or bGh fraction for 21 days,
a slight inflammation affecting the colon mucosa and
submucosa was observed, with noticeable changes of
lymphocytes in the colon tissue, raised cytokines and
eicosanoid levels. Overall, bGl reduced the higher
levels of the inflammatory markers and improved the
cytokine and chemokine signalling pathways (
_
Zyła
et al., 2019). However, the role of cereal b-glucans in
the whole immune system is still unclear (Bai et al.,
2019).
Colon cancer protection
Colon cancer is more common gut related metabolic
disorder in Europe as compared to United States
(Kho & Lal, 2018). b-glucans from mushroom source
have higher anticancer potential than that of cereals.
In colon cancer, butyrate plays a key role as it is a
vital SCFA that prevents the colon cancer occurrence
(Ma et al., 2018). This prophylactic effect could be due
to its capability to regenerate the epithelial cells of the
intestine (Zhang et al., 2010). In an in vivo study, oat
bran b-glucan dietary supplement was given to 25
healthy volunteers for 8 to 12 weeks. There was a sig-
nificant increase in the butyrate concentration in faeces
thus indicating a potential protection against colon
cancer (Nilsson et al., 2008). Furthermore, anticancer
activity of oat b-glucan has been supported by in vivo
study of 1, 2-dimethyl hydrazine-induced colon carci-
noma in mice. The bile acid content was significantly
decreased but the colonic SCFAs content was
increased in mice administered with oat b-glucan.
Moreover, oat b-glucan considerably enhanced the
apoptosis of tumour cells (Shen et al., 2016).
Schl€
ormann et al. (2020) analysed the chemo-pre-
ventive effect of roasted barley flakes (5.4% b-glucans)
through in vitro digestion and fermentation to attain
fermentation supernatant (FS). SCFAs concentrations
were increased in barley FS by 2.5 times with higher
butyrate production. The growth of LT97 cells (colon
adenoma cells) was substantially reduced by barley FS
in a time–dose-dependent manner. Moreover, caspase-
3 activity of treated cells was significantly increased up
to 6.3 times (Schl€
ormann et al., 2020). Vetvicka &
Vetvickova (2020) compared the anticancer, immune-
stimulating and anti-infectious potential of five differ-
ent b-glucans, that is algae, yeast, bacteria, oat and
mushroom in 8-week-old mice. The authors compared
their effects on the stimulation of phagocytosis of
blood cells, on the secretion of IL-2 and on the inhibi-
tion of melanoma and breast and lung cancers. Nearly,
all the glucans stimulated phagocytosis and IL-2 secre-
tion and reduced cancer growth.
©2021 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2021
Prebiotic effect of b-glucan on the gut health M. Shoukat and A. Sorrentino 7

Cereal b-glucan as immunomodulator
b-glucans have promising immunomodulatory poten-
tial through activation of macrophages, T helper cells,
neutrophils and natural killer cells, promotion of
T-cell differentiation and activation of an alternative
complement pathway, which affect both cellular and
humoral immunity (Mantovani et al., 2008). Ber-
mudez-Brito et al. (2015) demonstrated that barley
b-glucan induced an immunological response in human
dendritic cells through reducing the production of IL-8
and increasing the expression of CD83. The immuno-
logical response of barley b-glucan to dendritic cells
significantly decreased the cytokines IL-12, IL-6 and
IL-8 production (Bermudez-Brito et al., 2015). An
in vivo intervention study of diet enriched with oat b-
glucan (5 g day
1
) in ileostomy patients indicated that
incubation of their faecal water with human small
intestine and colonic cell improved the immune
defence. The increase in the immune defence was
mainly due to significant increase in chemokine pro-
duction and expression of adhesion molecules (Ramak-
ers et al., 2007). Arena et al. (2016) noted that the use
of oats and barley b-glucans for the incubation of
human lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated THP-1
macrophages decreased the expression rate of certain
pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1b). These
results support the hypothesis that cereals b-glucans
exert immunomodulatory properties reducing the pro-
inflammatory effect of LPS. In another in vivo study,
rats were fed with diets supplemented with two oat b-
glucan fractions, varying in molecular mass. Oat b-glu-
can treatment caused a substantial reduction of IL-12
production in colon, whose levels were elevated by
LPS treatment (Wilczak et al., 2015). Moreover, there
was significant decrease in the production of this cyto-
kine levels irrespective of oat b-glucan molecular mass.
The authors suggested oat b-glucans have strong anti-
inflammatory potential, and it could be proposed for
intestinal inflammatory disease patients (Wilczak et al.,
2015). Chaiyasut et al. (2018) compared the immune-
modulatory activity of three b-glucan sources, that is
yeast, mushroom and oat through an in vivo study.
Yeast b-glucan stimulated the expression of IL-6, IL-
17, IFN-c, IL-10 and TGF-bmore effectively than oat
and mushroom ones. Moreover, there was higher
antioxidant capacity during yeast-BG supplementation
in a dose-dependent manner than oat and mushroom
BG.
Conclusion
In recent clinical in vivo and in vitro studies indicate
the promising functional and therapeutic potential of
cereal b-glucans against various ailments. Blood
cholesterol and postprandial glucose-lowering effects
of cereal b-glucans has been already confirmed by the
EFSA with health claims. Besides these prophylactic
and therapeutic profile, cereal b-glucans consumption
has been provided sufficient supportive evidence to
demonstrate its positive impacts on the gut health. As
gut health is one of the most focus area of research in
food these days, clinical studies provides favourable
effect of cereal b-glucans on gut microbiota, reducing
gut permeability, activation of intestinal immune sys-
tem, stimulating short-chain fatty acids production
and reducing the inflammatory response.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted
in the absence of any commercial or financial relation-
ships that could be construed as a potential conflict of
interest.
Author contribution
Mahtab Shoukat: Writing-original draft (lead). Angela
Sorrentino: Supervision (supporting); Writing-review &
editing (supporting).
Ethical approval
Ethics approval was not required for this research.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at
https://publons.com/publon/10.1111/ijfs.14971.
Data availability statement
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no data-
sets were generated or analysed during the current
study.
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©2021 Institute of Food Science and TechnologyInternational Journal of Food Science and Technology 2021
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Prebiotic effect of b-glucan on the gut health M. Shoukat and A. Sorrentino10