Immunomodulatory dietary polysaccharides: a systematic review of the literature

Taken as a whole, the oral polysaccharide literature is highly heterogenous and is not sufficient to support broad product structure/function generalizations. Numerous dietary polysaccharides, particularly glucans, appear to elicit diverse immunomodulatory effects in numerous animal tissues, including the blood, GI tract and spleen. Glucan extracts from the Trametes versicolor mushroom improved survival and immune function in human RCTs of cancer patients; glucans, arabinogalactans and fucoidans elicited immunomodulatory effects in controlled studies of healthy adults and patients with canker sores and seasonal allergies. This review provides a foundation that can serve to guide future research on immune modulation by well-characterized polysaccharide compounds.