Production and physicochemical characterization of β-glucan produced byPaenibacillus polymyxa JB115

This study was conducted to develop a bacterial glucan as an animal feed additive. A novel glucan-producing bacterium.Paenibacillus polymyxa JB115, was isolated from Korean soil. The glucan, JB115-BG, produced byP. polymyxa JB115, was confirmed by TLC to be composed of glucose only. By examining FT-IR,1H NMR, and13C NMR spectra, it was proven that JB115-BG has a β-(1→3)- and β-(1→6)-linked glucan structure. The particle size of JB115-BG was distributed in the range of 4–800 μm, with a mean value of 149.1 μm, and its molecular distribution ranged from 6.9∼3,103.7 kDa. It was also observed that 80% of the purified JB115-BG had a molecular distribution above 100 kDa. The obtained results suggest that the glucan JB115-BG can be used as an animal feed additive for the purpose of enhancing immunity.