Structural characterisation and biological activities of a unique type β-D-glucan obtained from Aureobasidium pullulans

A β-D-glucan obtained from Aureobasidium pullulans (AP-FBG) exhibits various biological activities: it exhibits antitumour and antiosteoporotic effects and prevents food allergies. An unambiguous structural characterisation of AP-FBG is still awaited. The biological effects of β-D-glucan are known to depend on its primary structures, conformation, and molecular weight. Here, we elucidate the primary structure of AP-FBG by NMR spectroscopy, and evaluate its biological activities. Its structure was shown to comprise a mixture of a 1-3-β-D-glucan backbone with single 1-6-β-D-glucopyranosyl side-branching units every two residues (major structure) and a 1-3-β-D-glucan backbone with single 1-6-β-D-glucopyranosyl side-branching units every three residues (minor structure). Furthermore, this β-D-glucan exhibited immunostimulatory effects such as the accumulation of immune cells and priming effects against enterobacterium. To our knowledge, 1-3-β-glucans like AP-FBG with such a high number of 1-6-β-glucopyranosyl side branching have a unique structure; nevertheless, many 1-3-β-glucans were isolated from various sources, e.g. fungi, bacteria, and plants.