Effect of β-glucan on Growth, Feed Efficiency and Hematologic Index in Sparague-Dawley Rats

To investigate the toxicological effects of β-glucan, we performed basic studying on β-glucan in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Standard endpoints in this study included mortality, clinical observations, changes of body weights, analysis on food consumption, ophthalmoscopic examination, hematologic examination, serum biochemistry,analysis of organ weights, gross anatomic pathology and histopathology. No clinical signs and mortality were observed in animals treated with beta-glucan throughout the experimental period. The average body weight of each treatment groups showed similar levels at end of experiment. There were no treatment-related changes in mortality,body weights changes, food consumption, ophthalmoscopic examination. Although there were statistically significant differences between the control and treated groups in some relative and absolute organ weights, and hematological and biochemical analysis, the data were in biologically normal ranges and did not show a dose-dependent manner. In the morphological change, hepatic tissue were not showed ballooning degeneration and irregular arrangement of hepatic cell in β-glucan treatment groups with control group. Also, organs weights (liver, heart, kidney and stomach) and hematological indices (WBC, RBC, Hb, Hct and Platelet) did not show statistically significant differences among the experimental groups. In summary of these results, there were no changes in mortality, mean body weight, clinical signs, food consumption. There were no changes in ophthalmological examination, hematology, blood chemistry,necropsy and histopathology. In conclusion, although further investigation of glucan should be performed in the functions registered in many ancient literatures, β-glucan is physiologically safe and may have potential as candidate food for human health.N