**Abbreviations**


#### **References**


**Yujun Wan 1, Xiaojuan Xu 2, Robert G. Gilbert 1,3,\* and Mitchell A. Sullivan 4,\***


**Abstract:** Type 2 diabetes, a long-term chronic metabolic disease, causes severe and increasing economic and health problems globally. There is growing evidence that *β*-glucans can function as bioactive macromolecules that help control type 2 diabetes with minimal side effects. However, conflicting conclusions about the antidiabetic activities of *β*-glucans have been published, potentially resulting from incomplete understanding of their precise structural characteristics. This review aims to increase clarity on the structure–function relationships of *β*-glucans in treating type 2 diabetes by examining detailed structural and conformational features of naturally derived *β*-glucans, as well as both chemical and instrumental methods used in their characterization, and their underlying anti-diabetic mechanisms. This may help to uncover additional structure and function relationships and to expand applications of *β*-glucans.

**Keywords:** type 2 diabetes; *β*-glucan; molecular structure; anti-diabetic function; macronutrient absorption; enzyme inhibitor
