Developing 'functional bread' could help prevent asthma

Brazilian researchers have developed a functional bread that has the ability to prevent asthma and relieve symptoms in general.

The formula contains Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFMG A-905, a brewer's yeast strain with probiotic properties that has been shown to alleviate asthma symptoms in mice. 

The research team at the University of São Paulo (USP) included S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 in naturally leavened bread for the first time.

To evaluate its potential, the team tested 3 types of bread: the first was fermented with commercial yeast, the second with S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905, and the third with S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 plus microcapsules containing S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905. Livea (microencapsulated yeast).

Asthmatic mice were fed different types of bread for 27 days.

At the end of the trial, the mice that ate the S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 bread showed less airway inflammation and lower levels of asthma biomarkers (interleukins 5 and 13, or IL5 and IL13, which are proteins secreted by the immune system).

Airway hyperresponsiveness and levels of IL17A, another biomarker for asthma, were also reduced in mice fed bread containing microencapsulated yeast, confirming that live S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 can help prevent asthma.

“We added encapsulated live yeast in order to improve the viability and activity of the probiotics at the high temperature reached during the baking process,” said Marcos de Carvalho Borges, co-author of the article and professor in the Department of Clinical Medicine at Ribeirão Preto Medical School. 

The researchers believe they can now take the next step, which includes developing a protocol for a clinical trial to monitor the effects of yeast in humans.

The formulation, for which a patent application has been filed in Brazil (BR1020210266465), is described in an article published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition.