Unlocking the power of brewers’ yeast
by Maike Rakebrandt, Senior Product Management Equine & Pet, Leiber GmbH, Germany
Brewers’ yeast is a sustainable byproduct from breweries, which is produced in compliance with strict food guidelines. It is rich in many bioavailable active ingredients and nutrients like proteins, amino acids, B vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
As an autolysed brewers’ yeast, CeFi® pro undergoes a special production process that leads to the availability of valuable components for the animal in an open structure, and therefore is significantly more readily available. In addition to nutritional components, CeFi® pro contains functional components such as:
• β-glucans (immunomodulators)
• mannan oligosaccharides (MOS/prebiotic)
• nucleotides (cell regeneration)
Nucleotides are considered as non-essential nutritional components, but they play an important role in many metabolic processes or partially in important life stages. Nucleotides can be absorbed directly by enterocytes in the intestine. They are made available in the body via the so-called ‘salvage pathway’. This is a conversion process intrinsic to the body that uses the components of nucleotides from metabolic processes, dead cells or also nucleotide-rich foods such as CeFi® pro and making these available for cell regeneration or cell production. However, the body’s own production can be limited for any number of reasons, e.g. reproduction of intestinal epithelial cells, blood cells, hepatocytes and immune cells or in stress situations such as in young or old animals in acute or chronic illnesses.
In a feeding trial at the Free University of Berlin 21 dogs of the Malamute and Husky breeds were fed for a period of 30 days with CeFi® pro (1.5g per day) or pure brewers’ yeast at (3g per day). During the entire trial period, CeFi® pro and also pure brewers’ yeast showed outstanding acceptance and no negative effects on body weight, faecal consistency or quantity of faeces. The composition of the microbiota was considered on various levels. With regard to diversity (similarity dendrogram), two groups emerged (see Fig. 1). CeFi® pro formed a separate main cluster (left group) instead of pure brewers’ yeast (right group). It is already clear here that the products are digested differently.
At the phylum level an increase in bacteroidetes emerged after the administration of brewers’ yeast and CeFi® pro.
CeFi® pro group showed at order level a significant decrease in the coriobacteriales, this was compensated by a clear increase in lactobacillus. Significant differences with CeFi® pro were also apparent for bacteriodales and for bifidobacteriales. At the genus level a significant decrease in peptostreptococcus sp. was observed. Peptostreptococcus sp. are strictly peptidolytic as they ferment only protein or peptides and amino acids. Due to this, the production of biogenic amines, ammonium or non-utilisable metabolites could increase. In the CeFi® pro group, the increase in lactobacillales at the order level could be traced back to the drastic increase in the genus lactobacillus. An increase in the bifidobacterium was determined with the administration of CeFi® pro. The analysis of the shortchain fatty acids (SCFA) showed a significant increase in the lactate concentration after the administration of CeFi® pro (see Tab. 1). This verified the visible increase in lactobacillus on the order level and the drastic numeric increase in the genus lactobacillus.
In comparison to the use of pure brewers’ yeast, CeFi® pro demonstrated clearer and different types of changes in the faecal microbiota in dogs. The main effect relates to the drastic increase in lactic acid bacteria, in particular lactobacillus sp. An increased occurrence and activity of lactobacilli is to be assessed basically as a positive change in the microbiota. An increase in lactobacilli in the faeces along with a simultaneous decrease of strictly peptidolytic bacteria (peptostreptococcus sp.) shows that CeFi® pro is digested in the upper digestive tract, pure brewers’ yeast, in contrast, is more likely to be digested in the lower digestive tract.
Additionally, CeFi® pro contains immunologically active substances such as β-glucans. The immune effect of various Leiber brewers’ yeast products was examined in an in-vitro study with canine cells at the university of Ghent. CeFi® pro in particular positively influenced the interleukins, such as IL-6, IL-8 und IL-17A (see Fig. 2-4). Among others, interleukins serve as markers of inflammation (IL-6) and are liberated in acute inflammations, or as a key element (IL-8) in chronic inflammatory reactions because it attracts inflammatory cells to the location of the infection, or also as signalling cytokine (IL-17A) that is associated with various autoimmune diseases such as chronic inflammatory skin disease or IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). CeFi® pro was able to reduce all three proinflammatory interleukins and thus reduce inflammatory reactions.
CeFi® pro naturally combines essential and functional food components such as proteins, peptides and free amino acids and components with palatability enhancing properties like nucleotides and glutamic acid. In an external Household Panel with 30 dogs in a three-day preference test with standard dry kibbles for dogs, the kibbles were coated with 0.5 percent CeFi® pro. A significant higher preference was seen for the CeFi® pro group (see Fig. 5-7).
Take Home messages
Through the gentle autolysis process, CeFi® pro combines the positive effects of beta-glucans and mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) in the cell wall with the natural components of the cell interior like peptides, free amino acids and nucleotides in one product. CeFi® pro promotes the intestine, reduces inflammatory reactions and enhances at the same time palatability. CeFi® pro is a real all-rounder!
This Feature was published in the May 2024 Edition of International Petfood Magazine.
