Think All Beta Glucans Are Alike? Think Again with BetaVia™

In today's rapidly evolving wellness landscape, achieving peak immune resilience and maintaining gut health have become focal points for individuals seeking holistic well-being. With natural solutions being top of mind for consumers, beta glucans have emerged as a key ingredient known for their multifaceted benefits. At Kemin, we're proud to offer BetaVia™, an innovative nutraceutical ingredient that is rich in beta glucans, sourced from a special patented algae called Euglena gracilis^1-2 and designed to support both immune and gut health.^3-26

Understanding Beta Glucans & Their Sources

Beta glucans are long chains of glucose molecules forming non-digestible fibers and are known for their immune-boosting properties. Naturally acting as storage depots or structural components in bacteria, fungi, algae and certain cereal grains (oats, barley), the molecular structure, size and weight of beta glucan determines its functionality.^27-28

• Cereal Grains: Beta glucans found in cereal grains like oats and barley offer cardiovascular health benefits. They predominantly feature one-four linkages with some alternating one-three linkages.²⁹
• Yeast: Yeast beta glucans contain one-three linkages and are recognized by immune cells. However, they are often entangled within cell walls, requiring additional processing for extraction.²⁹
• Algae: Euglena gracilis, a freshwater microalgae, provides a distinctive reservoir of beta glucans. Unlike yeast, this special algae has the natural capacity to accumulate free floating granules of beta-glucans between 30 and 70 percent of the cell’s weight. This unique characteristic allows Euglena to serve as a hub for beta 1,3 glucans making it the right natural factory for a clean and lean process. ^29-30

BetaVia: A Natural Approach to Wellness

Through our patented fermentation process, Kemin utilizes Euglena gracilis to produce BetaVia—an innovative immune support ingredient with a remarkable beta glucan content exceeding 50% or 95%. However, BetaVia's benefits extend far beyond immune health; it serves as a postbiotic, fostering gut microbiota and reinforcing the intestinal barrier health.²⁶ This complete approach to the body’s defenses distinguishes BetaVia as a versatile solution to enhance health from within.

Simple Process, Big Results

Euglena gracilis, a freshwater microalgae, synthesizes and stores beta glucan as paramylon, its energy reserve. Kemin cultivates a proprietary strain of this microalgae, capable of both heterotrophic and autotrophic growth. Autotrophic growth harnesses sunlight via photosynthesis, while heterotrophic growth involves providing the right conditions without light dependency. During heterotrophic growth, Euglena accumulates paramylon, composed of linear beta 1,3 glucan in a tightly wound helical structure. Unlike yeast, where beta glucan is bound within the cell wall, Euglena's beta glucan exists freely, facilitating interaction with immune cells upon digestion.³¹ Additionally, the protein-rich membrane of Euglena contains amino acids contributing to the protein content of BetaVia Complete.³²

In the production of BetaVia, Euglena undergoes fermentation in enclosed tanks to ensure consistent quality and minimize contamination risks. The optimization of this vertically integrated process results in a simple process with big results: beta-glucans exclusively constituted of 1,3 glucose linkage in concentrations of 50 or 95%.

BetaVia boasts a shelf life of at least three years, thanks to the stability of its beta glucan granules, which resist degradation even amidst pH and temperature fluctuations during product formulation. This stability allows for lower overages in formulation, ensuring product efficacy and quality throughout its shelf life.^33-35

The Kemin Advantage: Your Partner in Nutraceutical Innovation

With a steadfast commitment to quality and innovation, Kemin ensures that BetaVia meets the highest standards of purity and efficacy. Our stringent fermentation manufacturing processes guarantee a consistent, premium-quality product, free from contaminants. Whether you're formulating dietary supplements, functional foods, or beverages, BetaVia offers unparalleled versatility and effectiveness.

Empowering Consumers with BetaVia Formulations

BetaVia represents a natural, complete solution for enhancing immune resilience and nurturing gut health. By incorporating BetaVia into your wellness formulations, you empower consumers to take proactive steps towards achieving optimal well-being. From immune modulation to gut microbiota support,^36-37 BetaVia offers a comprehensive approach to wellness that resonates with today's health-conscious consumers.

Conclusion: Partner with Kemin for a Healthier Future

As the demand for natural wellness solutions continues to rise, Kemin remains steadfast in our commitment to delivering innovative ingredients that empower individuals to thrive. Choose Kemin as your partner in wellness innovation and embark on a journey towards a healthier, more resilient future for all.

Subscribe to our Blog

These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

The information on this webpage is a business-to-business information and not intended for the final consumer. Certain statements may not be applicable in all geographical regions. Product labeling and associated claims differs based upon government requirements and country or region specific information should also be considered when labeling or advertising to final consumers.

This web page and its associated brochures and other documents do not constitute or provide scientific or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and are distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressly or implied. This web page, its title or contents and associated brochures and other documents do not in any way make recommendations for health or marketing claims by the reader. Country and region specific regulations should be considered in this regard. Each claim or statement about the effectiveness of Kemin products and/or each claim or statement comparing the effectiveness of Kemin products to the effectiveness of other products is expressly limited to the United States, unless otherwise disclosed on the Kemin websites.

References:

1. US patent # 9.574,217 Multi-stage process for production of immune modulator
2. US patent # 10,912,794 Use of beta 1,3 glucan for modulating immune function and treating intestinal inflammation
3. Salminen, et al. Nat rev Gastroenterol Hepatol (2022). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41575-021-00440-6
4. Evans, M., et al., Effect of a Euglena gracilis Fermentate on Immune Function in Healthy, Active Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Nutrients, 2019, 11(12), 2926
5. Kemin, BetaVia Complete can prime key cells in the innate immune system. KHTL-017-150.
6. KHTL-017-162 BetaVia Pure Can Prime Key Cell sin the Innate Immune system. KHTL-017-150.
7. KHTL-017-160 Paramylon Improves Antioxidant Status and Metabolic Health-TL-20-18529
8. KHTL-017-149 Characteristics and Prebiotic like Properties of BetaVia Complete
9. Kemin, Characteristics and prebiotic like properties of BetaVia Complete. KHTL-017-149.
10. Bhattad T, Koradiya A, Prakash G. Prebiotic activity of paramylon isolated from heterotrophically grown Euglena gracilis. Heliyon. 2022 Aug 27;7 (9): e07884. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e07884
11. Russo, R., et al. “Euglena gracilis paramylon activates human lymphocytes by upregulating pro-inflammatory factors.” Food Science & Nutrition 5.2 (2017): 205-214
12. Kondo, Y., et al. "Cytokine-related immunopotentiating activities of Paramylon, a β-(1→ 3)-D-glucan from Euglena gracilis." Journal of Pharmacobio-dynamics 15.11 (1992): 617-621.
13. Kankkunen, P., et al. "(1, 3)-β-Glucans activate both dectin-1 and NLRP3 inflammasome in human macrophages." The Journal of Immunology 184.11 (2010): 6335-6342
14. Brown, G.D., and Siamon G. Immune recognition: A new receptor for [beta]-glucans." Nature 413.6851 (2001): 36.
15. Brown, G.D., et al. "Dectin-1 is a major β-glucan receptor on macrophages. Journal of Experimental Medicine 196.3 (2002): 407-412.
16. Brown, G.D., et al. Dectin-1 mediates the biological effects of β-glucans." Journal of Experimental medicine 197.9 (2003): 1119-1124.
17. Goodridge, H.S. et al. "β‐glucan recognition by the innate immune system. Immunological reviews 230.1 (2009): 38-50.
18. KEMIN internal document: SD-18-00083
19. Ishibashi, Ken-ichi, et al. “Effects of Euglena gracilis EOD-1 ingestion on salivary IgA reactivity and health-related quality of life in humans.” Nutrients 11.5 (2019): 1144.
20. Nakashima, Ayaka, et al. “The alga Euglena gracilis stimulates Faecalibacterium in the gut and contributes to increased defecation.” Scientific reports 11.1 (2021): 1-8.
21. Nakashima, Ayaka, et al. “Effects of Euglena gracilis Intake on Mood and Autonomic Activity under Mental Workload, and Subjective Sleep Quality: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.” Nutrients 12.11 (2020): 3243.
22. Kawano, Takanori, et al. “Effect of Food Containing Paramylon Derived from Euglena gracilis EOD-1 on Fatigue in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group Trail.” Nutrients 12.10 (2020): 3098.
23. SD-17-00243 Kemin Internal Document (Effect of 50%BG on the immune and intestinal health status of weaned piglets)
24. SD-9-21271 Kemin Internal Document (Effect of 50% BG on IgA in piglet feces)
25. TD-17-0322 Kemin Internal Document (Effect of 50% and 95% BG on gut and systemic immunity in mice)
26. KHTLA-017-180 BetaViaTM A Natural New-Generation Postbiotic that works as both an Immune Gut Health Promoter 
27. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29244725/ 
28. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268005X15300126 
29. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/beta-glucan 
30. https://patents.google.com/patent/US9574217B2/en 
31. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5896972/
32. KH product specification for BetaVia Complete, 086000-20-US, 086000-07-US, 086000-01-US
33. KHSPEC 026-065 Product Specification for BetaVia Complete, 4 years
34. KHSPEC 026-062 Product Specification for BetaVia Pure, 3 years.
35. KHTL-017-151 KH Formulation guide for BetaVia Complete, KHTL-017-171 KH Formulation Guide for BetaVia Pure. 
36. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31816842/ Evans 2019 for immune study above.
37. KHTL-017-180 Kemin Unpublished Clinical Trial, BetaVia, A Natural New-Generation Postbiotic that works as both an Immune and Gut Health Promoter