In Vitro Study of Probiotic, Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities among Indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains

Nowadays, the interest toward products containing probiotics is growing due to their potential health benefits to the host and the research is focusing on search of new probiotic microorganisms. The present work was focused on the characterization of indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, isolated from different food matrixes, with the goal to select strains with probiotic or health-beneficial potential. A preliminary screening performed on fifty S. cerevisiae indigenous strains, in comparison to a commercial probiotic strain, allowed to individuate the most suitable ones for potential probiotic aptitude. Fourteen selected strains were tested for survival ability in the gastrointestinal tract and finally, the strains characterized for the most important probiotic features were analyzed for health-beneficial traits, such as the content of glucan, antioxidant and potential anti-inflammatory activities. Three strains, 4LBI-3, LL-1, TA4-10, showing better attributes compared to the commercial probiotic S. cerevisiae var. boulardii strain, were characterized by interesting health-beneficial traits, such as high content of glucan, high antioxidant and potential anti-inflammatory activities. Our results suggest that some of the tested S. cerevisiae strains have potential as probiotics and candidate for different applications, such as dietary supplements, and starter for the production of functional foods or as probiotic to be used therapeutically.