The food industry has long utilized various fungal strains for their fermentation, flavor production, and ability to produce heterologous molecules. A recent study highlights the potential probiotic effects of two fungi, commonly used in food production, on gut inflammation. The study, published in mSystems, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, demonstrates a possible new way to develop new probiotics.

“There is much to learn by studying the role of the fungal strains in the microbiota and host health and also that species simply used in food processes can be the source of new probiotics,” said lead study author Mathias L. Richard, Ph.D., Research Director at INRAE in the Micalis Institute in Jouy-en-Josas, France.

Understanding Yeasts in Food and Health

To date, very little is known about the diversity of foodborne yeasts and their potential effect on gut microbiota and gut health. Yeasts are microscopic fungi consisting of solitary cells that reproduce by budding. Some have been used for hundreds of years, like Saccharomyces cerevisiae for wine and bread production, or many others for cheese crust production or ripening, like Debaryomyces hansenii.

The researchers conducted the new study because they are working to further knowledge of the potential effect of the fungal microbiota on human health. In this particular study, the idea was to target specifically the fungi that are used by food companies to produce food products (cheeses, charcuterie). “Since our interest is more focused on the role of fungi in gut health and on the development of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), we monitored the effect of these fungi on adapted in vitro and in vivo models,” Richard said.

Probiotic Potential of Foodborne Yeasts

The researchers first selected yeasts that were intensively used in food production and represented a wide range of different yeast species and then tested them either in simple interaction tests with cultured human cells or in a specific animal model mimicking ulcerative colitis.



Sources - https://scitechdaily.com/revolutionizing-gut-health-how-two-common-food-fungi-might-be-natures-newest-probiotics/