Effects of different extracting methods on the properties of yeast β-glucan

The β-glucan extracted from spent beer yeast by different methods were investigated respectively.Enzymatic-alkali processing could obtain higher content of β-glucan than alkali-acid processing or alkali extraction.The molecular weight obtained by the enzymatic-alkali method was also larger than the two other methods.However,the properties of β-glucan,such as oil-binding capacity and freezing/ thawing stability were not affected significantly by the different extracting methods.It provided higher viscosity and stability against heat-treatment.These properties made β-glucan a very good potential application as a thickening agent or stabilizing agent in food.