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“sugar fungus” is Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Doc T,
Why does the feed/supplement industry rely upon S. Cerevisiae as an additive. It is found in about most everything related to horse. I have noted ill results with products containing this item. I have done research to no avail. When I find an article about the pros of the additive, it is generally written by the entity selling the additive-filled product. Is there anything worthy of this additive? What are the pros/cons? Do you know why it is used so extensively?
Thanks.
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1 Reply
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Lynne,
This one-cell organism is also known as brewer’s yeast or baker’s yeast. It is used in making beer, wine, and bread. As a probiotic, it is added to food (human and animal) to normalize the microbiome. “Saccharomyces” is derived from the Greek word for “sugar fungus.” It was first found on grape skins.
I do not consider adding any yeasts to food because of several reasons:
- Many do not pass the stomach acid, which protects the digestive tract from pathogenic bacteria and fungi (yeast).
- Fungi are opportunistic organisms that grow on dying tissues.
- Fungi used in the fermenting process consume glucose, which is good. However, so do other organisms in the hindgut that evolved to be there. If the hindgut organisms are healthy, there is no need to add a probiotic. Still, when horses are fed a high-sugar diet, it creates dysbiosis. Adding something to treat a harmful condition is not as good as removing the cause.
- Yeasts, including Saccharomyces, trigger the polyol pathway that converts glucose into fructose, which causes aggressive and risk-taking behavior and helps to add body fat. Coupled with a high-sugar diet, the addition of yeast to food may exacerbate unwanted behavior and metabolic syndrome.
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