Food, Global Health 2 min

Yeasts used in food production may have potential probiotic properties

PRESS RELEASE - Our microbiome is directly and indirectly linked to the development of a growing number of human pathologies. This is true for the bacterial component, but also for the population of microscopic fungi that make up the intestinal microbiome. However, most of the fungi in our diet come from the food industry (cheeses, bread, etc.). It is in this context that INRAE, in collaboration with IFF, a global leader in food, beverage, health, biosciences and scent, which produces fermentates for the agri-food industry and human probiotics, and the AP-HP has shown that yeasts used for many years in food production processes could have a positive influence on intestinal inflammation. These results are published in mSystems.

Published on 26 October 2023

illustration Yeasts used in food production may have potential probiotic properties
© FreePik

In addition to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast best known for its use in the production of wine, beer, champagne, bread, etc., there are many other yeast strains used in the food industry. These yeasts are used for flavor development in cheeses, crust production and fermented foods. Some are also used as biocontrol agents to prevent the development of pathogenic microorganisms on food products. Many of these yeasts have been used for hundreds of years, or even longer, in ancient processes developed for food fermentation. However, these strains, which have great potential in the food industry, have hardly ever been studied for their potential role in human health, until recently, particularly now that we know the importance and role of the microbiota. 

 

It was against this backdrop that a team of INRAE scientists, in collaboration with IFF and the AP-HP, selected 5 yeasts used in these different processes to test their anti-inflammatory potential in cellular and pre-clinical models. We undertook a comprehensive characterization of these yeasts, describing their cell adhesion capacity, their effect on epithelial cells in models of intestinal inflammation, and their effects on the intestinal microbiota of mice. 

 

 In this context, we showed that among these 5 yeasts, 2 yeasts, Cyberlindnera jadinii and Kluyveromyces lactis, were able to reduce the sensitivity of mice in a model of intestinal inflammation like ulcerative colitis, one of two known inflammatory bowel diseases. While the various tests failed to identify the precise mechanisms involved, in the case of C. jadinii, they suggest that this could be achieved in part by modifying the bacterial microbiota, promoting the development of bacterial strains with beneficial effects. Further studies are still needed to refine our understanding of these effects, and also to validate the potential for such effects in humans, but these initial results are promising and open up new perspectives in the study of this large catalog of microorganisms and their development as probiotics. 

 

Reference

Hugot C., Poirier M. et al. (2023). Cyberlindnera jadinii and Kluyveromyces lactis, two fungi used in food processes, have potential probiotic effects on gut inflammation. mSystems 26 october 2023
DOI : https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msystems.00841-23

INRAE press office

Scientific contacts

Mathias Richard UMR MICALIS (INRAE, université Paris-Saclay, AgroParisTech)

Charles Budinoff IFF (International Flavor & Fragrances)

Centre

Divisions

Learn more

Food, Global Health

Disarming a probiotic to improve its benefits

PRESS RELEASE- For more than a century, the Nissle 1917 strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli has been used as a probiotic to treat gastrointestinal disorders. However, this bacterium also produces a toxin, colibactin, which has deleterious effects on host DNA and might cause colon cancer. It is therefore crucial to understand the mechanisms at play in the strain if we wish to limit undesirable side effects. In a recent study, researchers at INRA, INSERM, the University of Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, and ENVT managed to decipher certain pathways by which Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 produces both beneficial and toxic compounds. They then successfully created a modified strain with the same probiotic properties but an unactivated version of the toxin. This work was published on September 23, 2019, in PLOS Pathogens.

11 December 2019

Food, Global Health

New prospects for the treatment of gluten intolerance thanks to the intestinal microbiota

PRESS RELEASE - Celiac disease is an immune disease of the intestine that affects more than 1% of the population. It is characterised by gluten intolerance that causes inflammation of the gut, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, and can lead to weight loss and deficiencies among patients. An international research consortium involving teams from McMaster University (Canada), INRAE, Sorbonne University Paris, INSERM, Paris Public Hospitals (AP-HP) and Wageningen University (Netherlands) has shown that the intestinal microbiota of celiac patients displays a defect in the production of active compounds that result from the breakdown of tryptophan by microorganisms. Their findings, published on 21 October in Science Translational Medicine, show that a dietary intake of tryptophan or supplementation with probiotics that can metabolise this amino acid diminish the intestinal lesions of celiac disease in animals and offer new therapeutic prospects in humans.

22 October 2020