Things you need to know about the“treasure” ingredient-Oat Beta-Glucan

Oat beta-glucan is short forβ-(1→ 3,1 →4) glucanofoat,whichis an important healthy ingredient in oat.It is a kind of water-soluble dietary fiber formed by monomer β-D-glucopyranose throughβ-(1→3) and β-(1→4) glycosidic bond.Oatbeta-glucan has been widely used in dietary supplements and foods in China and the international market as its exact health effects are gradually known to consumers. These products are often selected as functional foods by consumers.

Market Size

According to hengzhou Chengsi YH Research, the globalOatbeta-glucan

market revenue reachedUS$50 million in 2020 and is expected to reachUS$80 million in2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.22% (2021 -2027).The sizeof the Chinese market is growing rapidly. In 2020, the revenue of the ChineseOatbeta-glucanmarket reachedUS$13 million, and is expected to reach US$22 million in 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% (2021-2027).

In terms of product category, oatmealbeta-glucan can be divided into powder products and liquid products.In the oatbeta-glucan market, powder products represent a major revenue source for a variety of applications, reachingUS$44 millionin 2020, accounting for 89% of the oatbeta-glucan market revenue.

In terms ofproduct application, the food industry is the major revenue source in the oatbeta-glucan market, with revenue reachingUS$14 million in 2020, accounting for 55.5%of the oatbeta-glucan market revenue.

At the regional level, Europe and Asia Pacific are the major consumptionregions.The Asia-Pacific market has changed rapidly in the past few years. In 2020,the market size will beUS$18 million, accounting for 37% of the global market. It is expected to reachUS$30 million in 2027, accounting for 38% of the global market bythen.At present, Europe is the largest consumption region of the oatmealbeta-glucan market, accounting for approximately 43% of the global market size of US $21 million in 2020.

Oat beta-glucan,as a new natural food ingredient,has many effects on people's health.In the context of healthy lifestyle, there is growing interest in natural compounds that can safely lead to good health, thus the application of oat beta-glucan is being explored by more and more enterprises.

Market Application Direction

1. Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular disease is a growing serious public health problem, especially in countries with aging population around the world.A recent study published in JAMA Network Open found that consuming an additional 5 grams of cereal fiber per day was associated with a 14 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease in people over 65 years old. Oat beta-glucan is the dietary fiber from oat. According to the US FDA and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), at least 3 g/day of oat beta-glucan can maintain or lower blood cholesterol level thus reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. International guidelines for dyslipidemia management recommend 5 to 15 grams (European guidelines) or 10 to 25 grams per day (U.S. guidelines) of soluble fiber from oats (which is rich in beta-glucan) to lower blood cholesterol, which can be taken directly as a supplement in powder, capsule or tablet form.

2. Gut Health

According to the "2021 National Intestinal Health Survey Report" released by Ping An Health in 2021, about 90% of Chinese people will encounter intestinal problems,intestinal discomfort is becoming more common, and getting obvious in younger generation. The key to intestinal health is the health of intestinal microbiome.

As the water-soluble fiber, oat beta-glucan can promote probiotics reproduction, help regulate intestinal flora, and can be catabolized by anaerobic bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and butyric acid, therefore promote peristalsis, and relieve abdominal distention; At the same time, oat beta-glucan's water absorption and viscosity can encourage the intestinal movement of chyme, thus reducing the adverse effects of many pathogenic substances on the intestinal tract.

In the application, insoluble cellulose, prebiotics, probiotics and other products suitable for intestinal health can be developed together with oat beta-glucan. In terms of product development, Taiwan Sufu's oat bran powder and glucan oat milk contains 3.1g oat beta-glucan per serving, while combining pea fiber and iso-maltose oligosaccharides to create a high fiber, low-GI, ketogenic die to help maintain intestinal health；glucan oat milk contains up to 3.8% oat beta-glucan, which is rich in plant protein, vitamins, minerals and so on, providing comprehensive nutrition for intestinal health.

3. Weight Management

The seriousness of obesity and the threat of obesity to the health of the residents continue to catalyze the growth of the market of weight management

products.According to the "China Weight Management Products Industry Report

2020-2021", the market size of China's weight management products industry (in terms of sales amount) showed a growing trend, rising from 10.99 billion yuan in 2015 to 17.20 billion yuan in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 11.9%.

The strong satiation sense of oats is regarded as a diet of choice, mainly because oats contain rich dietary fiber, namely oat beta-glucan, it can form mucus in the digestive tract, prevent the contents of the small intestine and digestive enzyme contact, thus to prolong digestion and absorption time.

FD TECH independently develop the U-Season series solid drinks with ultra-high dietary fiber content, and mainly focus on weight management.Among them oat fiber powder, oat beta-glucan content is 2.5g per piece, combined with resistant dextrin, dietary fiber content of the product reaches up to 76%, 12 times higher than the national standard of high dietary fiber food.Such product is widely popular in the domestic market, and it won the 2021 Herbridge natural new power "Low GI Fashion Award";Oat fiber milkshake with oat beta-glucan content ≥1.5% was recommended as "Excellent New Product of Guangdong Food Industry" by Guangdong Food Industry Association.

4. Blood Glucose Management

In recent years, with the improvement of consumers' health awareness and the guidance of the country, the demand for sugar-free and low-sugar foods has gradually become a national consensus, which reflects the urgent demand of the public for blood glucose management. Scientific studies have shown that oat beta-glucan can delay the absorption of carbohydrates in the intestinal tract, maintain the stable secretion of insulin, thus achieve the purpose of blood sugar management. Oat beta-glucan is derived from cereal oat, rich in dietary fiber, with a low GI food raw material, is a healthy choice of sugar-free foods, in the product application it can be combined with zero sugar, low calorie sweeteners, dietary fiber, etc. to develop sugar-free foods suitable for different customer groups.

5, Other Effects

Stomach health: Recent randomized clinical studies published in Nutrients have demonstrated the beneficial role of oat beta-glucan in chronic gastritis.3g oat beta-glucan supplementation daily over a 30-day diet reduced mucosal damage without exacerbating clinical gastrointestinal symptoms,possibly due to the formation of a viscoelastic substance that protects the gastrointestinal tract after water absorption of oat beta-glucan.In the product application it can be matched with polysaccharide, oligosaccharide, probiotics and other effective ingredients,and made into powder or tablet form of products.

Immune regulation: Oat beta-glucan can act as an immunomodulatory ligand of some immune cells to improve the immunity of eaters.Studies demonstrated through in vitro experiments have shown that oat beta-glucan can stimulate immune function by activating macrophages to increase the amount of immunoglobulin and natural killer cells, thus improving resistance to infection and parasitic diseases[1].

Advantages of FD TECH Food Ingredient Co., Ltd

FD TECH Food Ingredient Co., Ltd is based on nearly 40 years of ingenious research in the food chemical industry, and has been engaged in the research of oat beta-glucan products for more than 20 years.  In the industry FD TECH is the first manufacturer to establish oatmeal beta-glucan production line in China, which is also with the largest production scale in China so far,actively promotes the application of oat beta-glucan in the industry: In 2013, FD TECH began to declare oat beta-glucan as a new food ingredient, and it was approved by the Ministry of Health of China in December 2014, which successfully promoted the development of oat big health industry in China. On the product side,FD TECH is with the rigorous scientific attitude towards its products, its research and development of oat beta-glucan products have passed the efficacy evaluation of medical laboratory animal center of Guangdong Province, and regarded as the auxiliary cholesterol-lowering effect. At the same time Guangdong Institute of Biological Products and Drug Toxicology Research Detection has determined it as the actual non-toxic level,so to escort for producers and consumers. On technical side, as the largest domestic manufacturer, FD TECH has the ability to produce full range of oat beta-glucan oat bran powder and oat beta-glucan products. Its rich experience in product application technology can help the brand with product innovation,thus promote further upgrade of functional food market.

References:

[1] Ning H Z et al, Study on antioxidant and hypidemic effects of beta-glucan in Oat,Food Science and Technology, 2008.(9):153-155.