The below titles are part of useful supporting publications from various well-known journal to ensure the beneficialness of yeast products

CM -glucans

- Improving skin function with CM-glucan, a biological response modifier from yeast. (For more detail please visit http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0142-5463)

-Increased efficiency of Lewis lung carcinoma chemotherapy with a macrophage stimulator—yeast carboxymethyl glucan.(For more detail please visit http:// www.elsevier.com/locate/intimp)

Improving skin function with CM-glucan, a biological response modifier from yeast

F . Z ¨ ULLI* and F . SUTER Mibelle AG Cosmetics, Bolimattstr. 1, 5024 Buchs, SwitzerlandH. BILTZ and H . P . NISSEN Derma Consult GmbH, Brunnenstr. 61, 53347 Alfter, Germany

ABSTRACT

Preparations from yeast have been used for a long time for cosmetic and pharmaceutical purposes. Studies have identified glucan from the cell wall of baker’s yeast as an immunologically active agent. Glucan is a poly beta-(1-3)-linked glucopyranose of high molecular weight and belongs to the class of compounds known as biological response modifiers. Glucan preparations are involved in the activation of the body’s natural defence mechanisms and in the acceleration of the skin’s wound healing processes. In the skin, Langerhans’ cells and keratinocytes are the immunologically competent cells. Recent studies indicate that UV irradiation can deplete the number and viability of these cells (immunosuppression). The use of non-specific immune-stimulators, such as glucan, is a new approach for improving the function of stressed skin. We have developed a process to modify pure glucan from baker’s yeast to carboxymethyl glucan (CM-glucan), a water soluble product suitable for topical formulations. The functional properties of this new compound have been investigated in vitro and in vivo. Cell culture experiments showed that CM-glucan protects skin cells against the depletion of antioxidant molecules upon UV-A irradiation and promotes the growth of keratinocytes. In placebo controlled studies with healthy volunteers, the pretreatment of skin with CM-glucan offered substantial protection against skin damage caused by a detergent challenge or UV-A irradiation. In addition, CM-glucan enhanced the renewal rate of the stratum corneum.

Keywords: CM-glucan; skin protection; UV-A; yeast polysaccharide

Credited by:
ã 1998 International Journal of Cosmetic Science International Journal of Cosmetic                Science 20(1998), 79–86

Increased efficiency of Lewis lung carcinoma chemotherapy with a macrophage stimulator—yeast carboxymethyl glucan

Grigorij Kogan a,*, Jozef S ˇ andula a, Tatyana A. Korolenko b, Olga V. Falameeva b, Olga N. Poteryaeva b, Svetlana Ya. Zhanaeva b, Olga A. Levina b, Tatyana G. Filatova b,Vasiliy I. Kaledin c

       a Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 842 38 Bratislava, Slovakia
       b Institute of Physiology, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, 630117           Novosibirsk, Russia
       c Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences,           630090 Novosibirsk, Russia

ABSTRACT

The efficiency of chemotherapy of Lewis lung carcinoma with cyclophosphamide was affected by administration of the water-soluble yeast polysaccharide derivative carboxymethylated (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan (CMG)—a well-known macrophage stimulator. It was found that while cyclophosphamide showed 57% growth inhibition of the intramuscular tumor implants in comparison with the control group, its combined administration with CMG led to 75–90% inhibition. Similarly, increased inhibition of occurrence of lung metastases (up to 92–94%) was observed using the combined application of the two compounds. The stimulatory effect of CMG is not associated with the changed cellularity of peripheral blood, but is rather due to the obviously increased concentration of the intracellular inhibitor of cysteine proteases—stefin A and cystatin C in tumor tissue.

Keywords: β-D-Glucans; Lewis lung carcinoma; Cyclophosphamide; Combined administration; Stefin A; Cysteine proteases

Credited by:
ã 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.            International Immunopharmacology 2 (2002), 775–781