β-glucan assay

(1,3)-ß-D-glucan and its detection with the Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL) Assay:

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An alternate LAL activation pathway initiated by the Factor G zymogen was discovered in 1981 by Iwanaga et al. This additional factor in LAL is activated in the presence of another microbial polysaccharide (1,3)-ß-D-glucan, a constituent of the cell walls of fungi, yeast and algae - e.g. Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, Cryptococcus neoformans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pneumocystic carinii, Mycobaterium tuberculosis, Fusarium sp., Absidia sp., Acremonium sp., Cephalosporium sp., Cladosporium sp., and many, many more.

 

Examples of the bioactive properties of ß-glucans:

• Radioprotective

• Immunological adjuvants

• Inhibitors of tumor growth

• Synergistic contributors of endotoxicity in septicemia and septic shock

• Cytokine induction capability

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