On probiotic yeasts in food development: Saccharomyces boulardii

S. boulardii has several additional attributes that provide probiotic properties, such as the beneficial effects against enteric pathogens, including the production of compounds that neutralize microbial toxins, prevention of bacterial adherence and translocation in intestinal epithelial cells and modulation of the host cell signaling pathway associated with the pro-inflammatory response in bacterial infection (Moslehi-Jenabian et al., 2010). According to the literature, studies have attributed positive effects to S. boulardii in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (Abbas et al., 2014) and acute gastrointestinal diseases, such as viral and bacterial diarrhea (Kelesidis & Pothoulakis, 2012). Xu et al. (2016) evaluated the administration of S. boulardii in premature newborns to improve tolerance to growth and feeding and observed that the prophylactic use of S. boulardii in premature newborns accelerates weight gain and improves feeding tolerance. Additionally, in vivo experiments conducted with mice demonstrated the effectiveness of the oral administration of S. boulardii in the modulation of infection pathways in the intestinal mucosa, thus suggesting a new and valuable therapeutic strategy for intestinal inflammation (Justino et al., 2020).

Among the microorganisms that provide benefits to the host, several strains and lineages of yeasts have been recognized as excellent alternatives with probiotic functions. Considering the beneficial effects attributed to probiotic yeasts, there is an increased scientific interest on the incorporation of these microorganisms in foods with functional characteristics. S. boulardii is one of the main probiotic yeasts species with beneficial health effects that has been studied regarding its potential for using in the development of innovative functional foods. Recent investigations indicate the potential application of S. boulardii in fermented vegetable products, bakery products, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, especially in craft beers, which production market that has significantly expanded in recent years.