**1. Introduction**

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In the report of the Experts of the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation [1] which reviewed research results concerning the influence of lifestyle, particularly diet components on the risk level of diet-dependent diseases, beta-glucan was acknowledged as a substance limiting the risk of many the so-called civilisation diseases. Simultaneously, it was recognized that the physiological influence of dietary fibre and interactions with other diet components are not fully known, therefore, further research within the scope is reasonable. Among various fractions of dietary fibre, β-glucans from cereals are especially significant, as they are considered safe and at the same time recommended for intake as food components lowering total cholesterol concentration in blood. Unlike widely-known fractions of dietary fibre, recommended as a factor modifying and preventing the risk of circulatory system and digestive system diseases, beta-glucans show multidirectional and still not entirely recognized health influence [2].

β-glucans discovered so far have been used in the pharmaceutical industry as substances strengthening the immune system, preparations of antiviral and antibacterial activity, and as natural adjuvants, which resulted in them being called "biological response modifiers" (BRMs). It is assumed that substances of this type cannot do harm, they help the body to adjust to various environmental and biological stresses and have a regulating and multidirected influence on the body, most of all, supporting the immune system, but also showing another positive influence on some functions of the body, e.g. correcting lipid metabolism, correcting glycemic index in people with type 2 diabetes, or exhibiting antitumor activity [3].

© 2013 Waszkiewicz-Robak, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
