The Beta Glucan Problem

Smaller on the label.
Bigger in the gut.

Most beta glucan supplements fail before they ever reach the receptor site. Here's the physics the EQUINE INDUSTRY doesn't want to explain — and why liquid delivery is the only mechanism that actually works.

The Beta Glucan Problem
Raw Beta Glucan
50–200+μm
Too large for receptor uptake. Most supplements ship it as-is.
Micronized
1–4μm
The "premium" tier. Solves size in the bag. Fails in the gut.
In Digestive Fluid
Re-clumps
Hydrophobic particles reaggregate. Absorption window slams shut.
LAYER 1 — THE BASELINE FAILURE

Most Equine Beta Glucan supplements don't even mill it.

Raw particulate beta glucan from yeast cell wall comes in at 50–200+ microns. That's too large for the Peyer's patches and M-cells in your horse's gut to meaningfully recognize and transport.

Most supplement companies put it in a bag and call it a day. Your horse gets the label. The biology gets nothing.

The receptor window Dectin-1 (the immune cell receptor that detects and binds beta glucan) is the primary mammalian β-glucan receptor. Its recognition and clustering behavior is directly size-dependent. [1,2,3] Particles outside the effective size window simply pass through without triggering an immune response.
LAYER 2 — THE MICRONIZATION ILLUSION

A handful of brands micronize. They still fail.

The companies that invest in micronization grind (by milling it) beta glucan down to 1–4 microns to hit the absorption window. Legitimate science. Real investment. Sounds like problem solved.

It's Not.

Beta glucan particles are hydrophobic. The moment micronized particles hit the aqueous environment of the digestive tract, they reaggregate — clumping back together into a larger effective particle size. The pharmaceutical term is secondary agglomeration. [4,5]

You started with individual grapes. By the time it matters, you've got a bunch again.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN THE GUT

The grapes in a bunch problem.

Three states. Same molecule. Only one of them is bioavailable.

RAW 50–200+ microns Too large to absorb MICRONIZED 1–4 microns Dry-form only IN THE GUT Re-aggregated Back to large effective size
Particle states from raw yeast cell wall (left) through micronization (center) to reaggregation in aqueous digestive fluid (right).
THE HIDDEN HALF

"Inactive" ingredients do the heavy lifting.

The label calls them inactive. The pharmacology calls them essential. Every ingredient in a supplement is doing work — the active carries the biology, the carrier keeps the biology accessible.

Pharmaceutical formulation science has spent decades proving what most supplement brands still ignore: excipients — the "inactive" ingredients — often have more impact on bioavailability than the active ingredient itself. [8,9] In solid and liquid oral formulations, the carrier system is what governs solubility, dissolution, dispersion, and — in the case of hydrophobic particles like beta glucan — whether the molecule stays suspended or clumps back together in aqueous GI fluid.

What excipients actually do Modulate bioavailability and solubility. Prevent dissociation and aggregation. Maintain osmolarity and pH. Stabilize APIs in the dosage form. Alter pharmacokinetics and absorption rate. [8,10] A supplement without a properly engineered carrier isn't a formulation — it's powder in a bottle.

This is the step competitors skip. It's harder to manufacture. It adds formulation cost. It doesn't fit on a pill. But for a hydrophobic particulate like yeast-derived beta glucan, the carrier isn't optional — it's the thing determining whether any of the active ever reaches a receptor site.

THE MECHANISM THAT ACTUALLY WORKS

Liquid delivery isn't a preference. It's the mechanism.

Beta glucan stays bioavailable only if particles stay dispersed at the point of absorption. Dry-form delivery can't prevent reaggregation in aqueous GI fluid. A liquid format with a proper stabilizing carrier can.

100X Equine's Gut X formulates beta glucan in a liquid matrix with a stabilizing carrier system designed to prevent secondary agglomeration in the digestive tract. Particles stay dispersed. The absorption window stays open. The biology gets what the label promises.

Three-beat summary Most brands never solve the raw particle size problem. The few that micronize never solve the reaggregation problem. Liquid + carrier is the only delivery mechanism that addresses both — which is why we built it this way.
CLINICAL AUTHORITY

47+ years of equine sports medicine.

Dr. Russ Peterson, DVM · MS · DACVSMR · Cert. ISELP, has spent his career treating performance horses at the highest levels of the sport. His formulations are built on the same absorption science that drives pharmaceutical drug delivery — because what your horse can't absorb, your horse can't use.

Dr. Russ Peterson
Dr. Russ Peterson
DVM · MS · DACVSMR · Cert. ISELP · Chief Veterinarian Officer & Head of Equine Science
"The supplement industry has spent decades marketing particle size without addressing reaggregation. Until you control what happens in the aqueous environment of the gut, you haven't solved the bioavailability problem — you've just moved it."
AQHA Sponsor
NRCHA Sponsor
DVM-Formulated
Clinical Research

References

  1. Elder MJ, Webster SJ, Chee R, et al. β-Glucan Size Controls Dectin-1-Mediated Immune Responses in Human Dendritic Cells by Regulating IL-1β Production. Frontiers in Immunology. 2017;8:791.
  2. Brown GD, Gordon S. Fungal β-glucans and mammalian immunity. Immunity. 2003;19(3):311–315.
  3. Legentil L, Paris F, Ballet C, et al. Molecular Interactions of β-(1→3)-Glucans with Their Receptors. Molecules. 2015;20(6):9745–9766.
  4. Khadke S, Ahmed MA, Roy M, et al. β-Glucan and Fatty Acid Based Mucoadhesive Carrier for Gastrointestinal Tract Specific Local and Sustained Drug Delivery. Biomolecules. 2023;13(5):768.
  5. Dowdall N, et al. β-1,3 Glucan Microparticles & Nanoparticles: Fabrication Methods & Applications in Immunomodulation & Targeted Drug Delivery. Advanced Healthcare Materials. 2025.
  6. de Pinho FP, Flaiban KKMC, Balarin MRS, et al. Orally administered β-glucan improves the hemolytic activity of the complement system in horses. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2021.
  7. Biological effects of β-D-glucans from natural sources on equine health and performance: A review. Research in Veterinary Science. 2025.
  8. Bhandari R, Kaur IP. The Role of Functional Excipients in Solid Oral Dosage Forms to Overcome Poor Drug Dissolution and Bioavailability. Pharmaceutics. 2020;12(5):424.
  9. Pottel J, Armstrong D, Zou L, et al. The activities of drug inactive ingredients on biological targets. Science / PLOS One. 2020.
  10. Pharmaceutical excipients that alter intestinal drug absorption: A systematic review of excipient–drug interactions. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology. 2025.