Structural, thermal, functional, antioxidant & antimicrobial properties of β-d-glucan extracted from baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cereviseae)—Effect of γ-irradiation

•Extraction of β-glucan from Saccharomyces cereviseae.•Structural characterization by using ATR-FTIR.•Thermal characterization using DSC.•Antioxidant and functional properties of yeast β-glucan.•Antimicrobial properties using various pathogens.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of γ-irradiation (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 & 50 kGy) on the structural, functional, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of yeast β-d-glucan. The samples were characterized by ATR-FTIR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and the thermal properties were studied using DSC. There was a decrease in the average molecular weight of β-d-glucan as the irradiation dose increased. The functional properties of irradiated yeast β-d-glucan were largely influenced by the action of gamma radiation like swelling power and viscosity decreases with increase in the irradiation dose while as fat binding capacity, emulsifying properties, foaming properties and bile acid binding capacity shows an increasing trend. All the antioxidant properties carried out using six different assays increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) in a dose dependent manner. The antibacterial activity of yeast β-d-glucan also showed an increasing trend with increase in the irradiation dose from 5 to 50 kDa.