A group of Brazilian researchers developed a functional bread with the potential to prevent asthma – a respiratory disease responsible for around 350,000 annual hospitalizations in the Unified Health System (SUS).
Described in the magazine Current Developments in Nutrition and already patented (protocol number BR1020210266465), the formulation contains yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFMG A-905, a probiotic that has already proven effective in alleviating the symptoms of the disease in tests with mice (Read more at: agencia.FAPESP.br/40748). Further studies with human volunteers will still be needed.
One of the most common respiratory conditions in the world and with a rising prevalence, asthma affects around 20 million Brazilians, according to Datasus (database coordinated by the Ministry of Health). It is characterized by inflammation and hyperresponsiveness of the airways and, although its exact causes are unknown, it is known that it is associated with factors such as environment, diet and composition of the intestinal microbiota. It is because of this last item that asthmatic patients can benefit from the consumption of probiotics.
Although these beneficial bacteria are traditionally administered pure or through dairy products, such as yogurt, milk, kefir and others, there are no obstacles to the use of other vehicles – which can even benefit people who are allergic to milk protein or have an intolerance. to lactose.
In this study, funded by FAPESP, researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) incorporated, for the first time, yeast S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 to the production of naturally fermented bread. The work included the collaboration of groups from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).
To evaluate its potential, three types of bread were tested and compared: the first was fermented with commercial yeast; the second, with yeast S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 (UFMG -A905 bread); and the third, with S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 and added with microcapsules also containing S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 alive.
“We incorporated encapsulated live yeast with the aim of maintaining the viability and activity of the probiotic in the face of the high temperatures reached during cooking”, explains Marcos de Carvalho Borges, professor at the Department of Clinical Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto (FMRP -USP) and study advisor. “These microcapsules can also protect bioactive compounds and probiotics, improving their stability, survival and bioavailability.”
For 27 days, mice with asthma were fed the bread. At the end of the experiment, those who received the fermented S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 showed less airway inflammation, with a decrease in asthma biomarkers (interleukins type 5 and type 13, or IL5 and IL13, which are proteins secreted by cells of the immune system).
In the case of the product that also contained microencapsulated yeast, there was also a reduction in airway hyperresponsiveness and in the concentrations of the protein interleukin 17A (IL17A), related to asthma. These results are similar to previous studies, which confirmed the action of S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 alive in the prevention of the disease.
“We observed that the two breads fermented with S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 prevented the development of asthma in animals, which reveals, together with results from other experiments, that this yeast has a very consistent effect and, apparently, can actually combat the development of asthma”, says Borges.
Next step: human testing
Although they recognize limitations of the study, such as the lack of analysis of a bread with commercial yeast added with microcapsules and of data on the survival of microcapsules of S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 after baking, scientists believe it is now possible to take the next step: developing a protocol to evaluate the effects of bread with yeast also on humans.
“The potential of this product is extremely interesting”, believes Borges. “Bread is a natural food that practically everyone consumes, including part of children’s diets, and is also easy to distribute and has a good shelf life.”
The study had financial support from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) and the work of scientists Ana Paula Carvalho Thiers Calazans and Thamires Melchiades Silva Milani, from FMRP-USP; Ana Silvia Prata and Maria Teresa Pedrosa Silva Clerici, from the Faculty of Food Engineering at Unicamp; and Jacques Robert Nicoli and Flaviano Santos Martins, from the Institute of Biological Sciences at UFMG.
The article A Functional Bread Fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFMG A-905 Prevents Allergic Asthma in Mice can be read at: https://cdn.nutrition.org/article/S2475-2991(24)00076-3/fulltext .