A daily dose of the probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFMG A-905, isolated from cachaça production, can prevent asthma, a disease characterized by inflammation of the airways, airflow limitation and bronchial remodeling (anatomical consequence of inflammation in the airways) that affects 334 million children and adults worldwide . That’s what a study by researchers from the universities of São Paulo (USP) and Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) showed with male mice. The results were published in the journal Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins.
Although functional treatments with probiotics to prevent or treat various diseases — skin, gastrointestinal, neurological and allergic — have been attracting greater interest, in many cases, studies are still lacking that define the ideal dose and administration regimen to really achieve the expected benefits. It was the case of S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905, yeast used by the food industry in the production not only of cachaça but also of beer and bread. Its potential to attenuate asthma symptoms in an animal model was already known, but more details were needed on how to take advantage of it. The new study shows that the ideal is to ingest a daily dose at a concentration of 109 CFU/ml (Colony Forming Units per milliliter of the solution administered to rodents). This represents an estimated 10 billion viable bacteria per milliliter. To give you an idea, Yakult fermented milk has 16 billion probiotics in a 65 ml bottle.
“It is necessary to understand that probiotics work like medicines, that is, there is no point in taking them from time to time or in the wrong dose”, explains Marcos de Carvalho Borges, professor at the Department of Internal Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto (FMRP-USP ) and study advisor.
The work, which had the support of FAPESP, evaluated, for 27 consecutive days, the effects of a daily dose of 100 microliters (μL) of a solution with the probiotic in three different concentrations: 107, 108 and 109 CFU/ml. The regime of alternate days (three times a week) of administration of 100 μL of the solution with 109 CFU/ml of S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 for five weeks was also investigated.
The evaluation was performed on male mice sensitized intraperitoneally with ovalbumin (an egg white protein that induces asthma) and also challenged with it intranasally. They received the yeast directly into the stomach through a tube.
The authors found that, compared to mice in the control group, which received only saline solution, both the daily administration of the probiotic and that on alternate days significantly reduced bronchial hyper-responsiveness, that is, the exaggerated narrowing of the airways in response to to a stimulus, one of the main features of asthma.
However, from the point of view of airway inflammation itself, only the highest dose given every day was able to reduce it in asthmatic mice.
“We observe the degree of inflammation by the amount of eosinophils [células de defesa] and by the production of cytokines, both inflammatory markers of asthma that have been considerably reduced”, explains Borges. “We came to the conclusion that the S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 isolated from artisanal cachaça has a good potential to prevent the disease, however, for that, it must be ingested every day, in a high dose.”
Daily administration of the probiotic at concentrations of 107 and 108 CFU/ml and on an alternate-day basis did not significantly reduce airway and lung inflammation.
“From the point of view of public policy, having a natural product like a probiotic, which has practically no side effects, to potentially prevent the development of a disease as prevalent as asthma is very important”, completes Borges.
Medicine in ideal format
With the animal studies completed, the idea now is to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the beneficial effect of S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 and evaluate it in humans to confirm whether the same results are reported. For this, the researchers want to go beyond creating a simple pill with the solution and are thinking of developing fermented food products with the probiotic.
In another work, a master’s degree supervised by Borges in partnership with the University of Campinas (Unicamp) and UFMG, a bread with a preventive effect has already been developed. The product has just been patented and should soon be reported in scientific journals.