Oat Beta-Glucan Concentrate

Oat beta-glucan is a linear, mixed-linkage (1→3),(1→4)-beta-D-glucan, CAS 9041-22-9, built from blocks of three or four beta-(1→4) linked glucose units separated by single beta-(1→3) links; glucose is essentially the only monosaccharide present. Oats run richer in the three-unit blocks than barley does, and the polymer sits in the cell walls of the kernel, concentrated in the outer layers of the endosperm, which is why bran fractions carry more of it than whole groats. Most oats hold 3 to 6% beta-glucan by weight. Molecular weight is the property that governs how the ingredient behaves in a formula: a medium-viscosity analytical oat beta-glucan reference measures around 272 kDa, and commercial food grades are bought and sold against a declared solution viscosity rather than assay alone. The grades differ enough that they suit different buyers. The 22% and 35% concentrates are produced by milling and air-classifying oat bran, so they retain oat starch and protein and behave as a functional oat fibre with cereal character. Grades of 70% and above are extracted with water and enzymes and recovered by alcohol precipitation, and behave as a hydrocolloid — hydrating into viscous, pseudoplastic solutions that thin under shear, used to build mouthfeel, replace fat and hold suspensions. Assay is by the McCleary lichenase and beta-glucosidase enzymatic method, the reference approach for mixed-linkage beta-glucan in oats and barley. US labelling rules define compositional floors for oat sources that buyers often quote in their own specifications: oat bran at not less than 5.5% beta-glucan soluble fibre and 16% total dietary fibre on a dry-weight basis, and rolled oats or whole oat flour at not less than 4% and 10%. Beta-glucan content is the compositional basis against which claim conditions are written in several markets; confirming eligibility and wording for the destination market remains the brand owner's responsibility. Allergen handling deserves attention. Oats are named among the gluten-bearing cereals in EU allergen labelling and carry avenin, and in practice the larger commercial risk is cross-contact with wheat, barley and rye through shared rotation, harvesting and milling. Material drawn from dedicated gluten-free oat supply chains and tested below 20 mg/kg gluten by R5 ELISA can be quoted; standard grades are not offered as gluten-free. The ingredient is vegan and vegetarian, is neither bovine, porcine nor marine, and carries no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean or tree-nut input. Thovek supplies bulk quantities from India with batch certificates of analysis, viscosity data and full export documentation.