Beta-Glucans, Nature's Super-Medicine

Can wounds be helped to heal faster?  The answer is yes.

Beta-Glucans have been called nature's super-medicine. Norwegian researchers have been pioneers in producing these substances. Beta-Glucans are now widely used in cosmetics.

The true potential of Beta-Glucans has barely been touched upon, asserts Rolf Einar Engstad, Chief Scientific Officer at the Troms-based company Biotec Pharmacon. He headed a project which over the past several years has enhanced the understanding of how Beta-Glucans work and how they can be applied.

Promising medicinal effects on humans

"Since the mid-1980s we have known that these substances fight infection and have a bearing on the body's ability to kill cancerous cells," explains Dr Engstad, "but we never knew why. With funding from the Program for User-driven Research-based Innovation (BIA) under the Research Council of Norway, we have carried out a project that gives us insight into the working mechanisms of Beta-Glucans." Biotec Pharmacon received assistance from Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo during the project.

"When we started the project we didn't know whether the substance needed to be taken up in the blood or if its effect was local," recalls Anders Sandvik, who earned his PhD in beta-glucans.

"To find out, we conducted experiments on rats, introducing bacterial components into the blood to see what would happen. We determined that animals receiving Beta-Glucan acquired significant protection."

This was a promising development for the Troms company, which had already found that its product, a Beta-Glucan gel, was effective in helping wounds to heal quickly.

"We're also examining the possibility of developing the healing gel under the statutory framework for medical devices rather than as a medicine," says Dr Engstad. "The requirements for clinical documentation of the product are less stringent, and we could get it to market far sooner."

"I believe that in the course of 2012 we will be ready to launch it."

"This will be a unique product that can be used for treating all types of wounds: surgical incisions, diabetic ulcers and bedsores," says Dr Engstad. "There is nothing on the global market that heals wounds in the same way."