Ingredient intelligence
Beta-glucan
Botanical · Beta-Glucan · (C6H10O5)n
Beta-glucans are polysaccharides recognised by innate immune such as dectin-1, which is why they appear in soothing and barrier research.
Any underlined term can be tapped for an everyday-English translation.
Molecular identity
- Formula
- (C6H10O5)n
- Molecular weight
- Data unavailable
- PubChem CID
- 439262
- ChEBI
- Data unavailable
Biological targets
C-type lectin domain family 7 member A (CLEC7A / dectin-1)
medium confidenceactivates · receptor
UniProt Q9BXN2
How could this ingredient interact with biology?
Biological network
Ingredient → molecule → target → gene/protein → pathway → process → studied outcome. Relationship strength is drawn from the curated confidence tier; nothing is added to make the chain look complete.
drag to pan · hover to isolate a path · click a node for detail
3 lower-confidence relationships are hidden at this filter level. Use “Show more biology” to include them.
Text alternative for this network
- Beta-glucan is molecule Beta-1,3-glucan repeat unit — high confidence
- Beta-1,3-glucan repeat unit activates C-type lectin domain family 7 member A (CLEC7A / dectin-1) — medium confidence
- C-type lectin domain family 7 member A (CLEC7A / dectin-1) encoded by CLEC7A — medium confidence
- CLEC7A participates in C-type lectin receptor signalling — medium confidence
Biological pathways
C-type lectin receptor signalling
medium confidenceDectin-1 mediated innate recognition of beta-glucans.
Reactome R-HSA-5621481
Evidence engine
Limited
Mostly mechanistic, animal or single-study evidence.
Skinceptor Evidence Index
42
experimental · of 100
This index is a research-navigation aid describing how much evidence exists and how it was produced. It is not a medical safety score, an efficacy guarantee, or a clinical recommendation.
Study composition
- Human1
- Review1
- Total studies
- 2
- Human studies
- 1
- Largest sample
- 27
- Range
- 2005–2011
Index breakdown
- Study design quality57% × 28%
Mean design weight across curated studies (meta-analysis 1.0, RCT 0.9, other human 0.7, review 0.45, animal 0.35, in-vitro 0.25).
- Human evidence share33% × 22%
Proportion of curated evidence measured in people rather than cells or animals.
- Evidence volume50% × 14%
Log-scaled count of curated studies, so volume alone cannot dominate the score.
- Largest sample size48% × 12%
Log-scaled largest reported sample size across curated human studies.
- Replication33% × 12%
Independent human studies, capped at three; one study is never treated as replicated.
- Recency25% × 7%
Linear decay over a twenty-year window from the most recent curated publication.
- Source traceability0% × 5%
Share of curated studies with a verified PMID or DOI in this dataset.
Insufficient comparable evidence for quantitative synthesis.
Research timeline
How the evidence accumulated
2005
Oat beta-glucan penetration and soothing endpoints in human skin
Humann = 27 · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology
2011
Beta-glucan recognition by dectin-1 and downstream innate signalling
Reviewsample size unavailable · Nature Reviews Immunology (review)
Ingredient fingerprint
8 nodes · 8 relationships · seed "beta-glucan"
The fingerprint is a deterministic visual signature: ridge amplitude comes from the number of entities in each tier, node placement from identifier hashes, and opacity from confidence. Two ingredients can never produce the same figure unless their networks are identical.
Open in Biology as Art →Research
2 curated studies
Beta-glucan recognition by dectin-1 and downstream innate signalling
Establishes CLEC7A/dectin-1 as the principal receptor for beta-1,3-glucans in innate immune recognition.
Limitations — Immunology review; cosmetic topical endpoints not addressed.
Oat beta-glucan penetration and soothing endpoints in human skin
Reported improvement in dryness and itch scores, with penetration of the polysaccharide into the upper epidermis described in accompanying imaging.
Limitations — Small sample, manufacturer-supported; identifier not verified during curation.
Community evidence
Submitted by readers
Reader submissions appear here only after review. They are not part of the curated dataset and do not affect the Skinceptor Evidence Index.
No approved community submissions yet.
Sources
- PubChem 439262Verified 2026-09-14
Related biology maps