Whole Particulate Beta Glucan Increase White Blood Cell Count

Beta-glucan, a polysaccharide derived from Baker's yeast, has long been shown to promote the immune system by enhancing its phagocytic (cell-killing) properties. In a recently-published article in Blood , a popular scientific journal, the researchers revealed that beta-glucan has found a new place in the promotion of a healthy immune system.

In the study, mice were given radiation in order to severely stun the bone marrow. They speculated that a similar situation would occur when an individual received chemotherapy, also known to suppress the bone marrow. In either case, a stunned bone marrow quits making leukocytes, important cells in the fight against infection. This is why chemotherapy and radiation-treated patients often suffer from severe and sometimes fatal infections in the days following their bone marrow insults.

As the figure shows, mice treated with beta-glucan before and after a bone marrow insult showed a much more rapid resumption of the normal amount of leukocytes in their blood than did those treated with placebo (PBS). What this means is that the dangerous period of time following a bone marrow insult is much reduced with beta-glucan.

The researchers feel that the way beta-glucan does this is much different from what we already know about the polysaccharide. We have understood its role in phagocytic activity for some time. This process, however, involves the "complement" or antibody part of the immune system.

Regardless of how it works, the fact that beta-glucan has the potential to reduce the time of diminished immune function between a bone marrow insult such as radiation and chemotherapy means that the overall risk of infection and death in the post-insult period could actually be reduced. It appears, too, from the study that the taking of beta-glucan preceded the bone marrow insult and continued afterward.

This study means that immune support, in the form of beta-glucan, prior to, during and after an insult to the bone marrow is vital in reducing the complications of chemotherapy and radiation.

Beta Force Beta Glucan products have been scientifically proven to maintain and enhance our immune system through independent testing. Our material has been tested in preclinical and clinical studies on: