Nooch: Beta-glucans without the BS

If you’ve spent more than 15 minutes researching mushroom powders, extracts, or other fungal flexes for your CPG line or dietary supplement startup, you’ve likely encountered a reassuring badge of scientific integrity: “Standardized to 30% beta-glucans.” Or maybe 40%. Heck, if they’re feeling bold, maybe even 50%.

That number—crisp, clean, and quantifiable—screams trust me, I’m bioactive. But let’s peel back the polished label and ask a truly heretical question: What does this number even mean?

The Beta-Glucan Gold Standard (That Isn’t)

Beta-glucans are naturally occurring polysaccharides found in the cell walls of fungi, celebrated for their immunomodulating and gut-regulating powers. They’re soluble fibers—sticky, binding, and good for your gut biome. Sounds impressive, right?

So impressive, in fact, that entire product lines are built around their alleged presence.

But here’s the twist: beta-glucans are not unique to mushrooms. They're not even rare. You can find them in oats, barley, seaweed, and—brace yourself—yeast. And that’s where the plot thickens.

Enter Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Unsung Hero

Let’s talk about yeast—specifically Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the backbone of bread, beer, and bad kombucha experiments. This little organism is the fermentation world’s MVP. Easy to grow, fast to scale, and practically begging to be monetized.

Through decades of industrial fermentation, we've fine-tuned yeast strains to enhance flavors in wine, speed up ethanol production, or even synthesize insulin. But nestled within this microbe’s minimalist architecture is a hidden gem: a ridiculous amount of beta-glucans.

That’s right. Your mushroom supplement’s prized beta-glucans? You could get them from bread scum or a hazy beer.

Behold: Nutritional Yeast (a.k.a. Nooch)

Let’s pause here for a moment of reverence. Nooch—nutritional yeast—is the cheesy-tasting, umami-packed dust sprinkled religiously by vegans, burners, and anyone who’s ever said “I make my own ghee.”

Aside from its B-vitamin profile and high protein content, nooch contains 5–20% beta-glucans by dry weight. (https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22020825) That’s right—your food seasoning has more fungal credibility than the capsule you’re popping for $1 a gram.

Let’s do some light math (don’t worry, I’ve got you):

• Mushroom supplement: $30 per bottle

  • 60 capsules, 500mg each = 30g of material

  • 30g × 40% beta-glucans = 12g beta-glucans

  • Cost per gram of beta-glucans = $2.50/g

• Nutritional yeast: $14 per pound (454g)

  • Let’s go conservative: 5% beta-glucans

  • 454g × 5% = 22.7g beta-glucans

  • Cost per gram of beta-glucans = $0.62/g

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You’re paying 4x more for fewer beta-glucans in your “premium” mushroom supplement than you would from a bag of nooch—and the nooch makes your food taste like parmesan.

So Why Are We Still Doing This?

That’s the million-dollar (or at least $30/bottle) question. The supplement industry loves metrics that sound standardized. “40% beta-glucans” gives the illusion of pharmaceutical precision while providing none of the pharmacokinetic data that actually matters. There is zero correlation between beta-glucan content alone and therapeutic efficacy—especially when:

• The beta-glucan structure isn’t disclosed,

• Other compounds like triterpenes, ergothioniene, or erinacines are ignored,

• And consumers have no clue what dose actually does anything.

It’s like selling wine based solely on alcohol content and calling it “standardized.”

The Verdict: Stop Worshipping the Beta-Glucan Percent

Here’s a radical suggestion: if you're taking mushroom supplements or searching for ingredients for your company just for beta-glucans, skip the capsules and COAs and eat your nooch. You’ll save money, nourish your gut, and unlock a world of umami that capsules will never provide. Of course, there are good reasons to take mushroom supplements—unique secondary metabolites, synergistic compounds, immune system tuning, neuroprotective effects—but those things require strain-specific cultivation, proper extraction, and actual testing for bioactive compounds. Not just a beta-glucan number pulled out of a spreadsheet.

Until then, if you’re in it for the fiber or gut health, you’re better off with a spoonful of hippie dust and a bowl of miso soup.

Spore Growth Partners is committed to transforming the mushroom industry through scientific rigor, transparent education, and sustainable advocacy. If you're a brand, grower, or formulator looking to align your product with testing standards that matter—let's talk.