Probiotic yeast <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii</i>: properties and peculiarities of use in functional foods development

The unconscious human consumption of probiotic microorganisms due to fermented foods in the daily diet has lasted for many centuries. Meanwhile, the transition to the conscious use of probiotic biopotential in a healthy diet dates back only to the beginning of the previous century. It is associated with the development of the concept of functional food. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, discovered in the 1920s, is the only eukaryotic probiotic microorganism registered. The probiotic activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii is determined by antimicrobial, antitoxin, immune modulation, and trophic effects. These different types of activities, in their turn, have provided a wide range of applications of this yeast culture to treat various types of diarrheas; clostridium difficile infection; inflammatory bowel diseases; irritable bowel syndrome; ulcerative colitis; Crohn’s disease; sepsis; acne; and vaginal candidiasis. In addition to the application of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii in medical practice, it becomes possible to incorporate the microorganism into food products, which can impart them functional, namely, probiotic properties, thus enhancing their biological activity and contributing unique sensory characteristics to final products in the case of fermented ones. This review aims to systematize the data concerning the properties of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii and its application in the functional food development. Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, probiotics, functional food, fermented foods, yeast