Glucans branching

D-Glucan Branch linkages Common name Form ni. (" ) ... 

Figure 2 compares the conformational transition curves of wild-type yeast glucan (branch frequency = 0.20) and PGG (branch frequency = 0.50). Wild-type yeast glucan required approximately 0.1M NaOH to disrupt the triple helical conformation, whereas this transition is observed at approximately 0.04 M NaOH with PGG. This trend is consistent with the observation that curdlan, an entirely linear p-D(l-3)-linked glucan, requires approximately 0.25M NaOH to disrupt the ordered conformation (76). Hence, it is concluded that the highly branched PGG molecules only form weak inter-chain associations resulting in the formation of predominantly single-helical zones. 

Table 4.6.14 Enzyme activities (1,4-a-glucan branching enzyme) in liver, muscle, and fibroblasts... 

Cereal glucan (branched ) Anionic polysaccharides -D-glucopyranosyl... 

Dextran (Fig. 3C) is a (1 6)-a-D-glucan with dominantly (1—>3)-ot-D-glucan branches and minor (1—>4)- and (1—>2)-ot-D-glucan branches, industrially produced from sucrose feedstocks, primarily by Leuco-nostoc mesenteroides but also by Streptococcus and Lactobacillus spp. Crude dextran and dextran fractions are soluble in aqueous medium and have been applied in a wide range of pharmaceutical/clinical and food applications for decades. 

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