Eukaryotic Probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii Application in Clinical Trails: A Review

Abstract

Probiotics are live microbes that assist in restoring the symbiotic intestinal gut flora balance, and thus, bestow health benefits to the host. The most commonly used human probiotics are members of the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species. Besides these bacteria, Saccharomyces boulardii, a yeast strain, is also widely used as a probiotic to treat a variety of conditions, including antibiotics-associated diarrhea and recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. A primary advantage of using Saccharomyces boulardii as a probiotic is that it can be used by patients undergoing antibiotic regimen due to its natural resistance to antibiotics. The genetic transfer of antibiotic resistance genes, a frequent event between pathogenic and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) bacteria, is not as frequent between yeast and bacteria. Furthermore, Saccharomyces boulardii is also tolerant to various local stresses such as the presence of gastrointestinal (GI) enzymes, bile salts, organic acids, etc. and can withstand considerable variations in pH and temperature while transiting through the human GIT. Saccharomyces boulardii is known as generally regarded as safe (GRAS)with probiotic activity against a wide range of pathogens. This yeast is often marketed in a lyophilized form, “S. boulardii lyo”, complete sequence of the genome was performed, and a comparative analysis of the genome was performed. From clinical studies, the results of randomized controlled trials in patients repeatedly confirmed the significant positive effect in the treatment of acute and chronic diseases.