In vitro evaluation of the binding capacity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sc47 to adhere to the wall of Salmonella spp.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sc47 (Biosaf) is a commercially available baker's yeast strain (Lesaffre, France) that has been used as a probiotic in animal nutrition. It has been previously reported that animals fed with the yeast showed an improved resistance to several enteric infectious diseases. Some of the S. cerevisiae strains adhere potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. This could be a mechanism through which animals fed with the yeast may become more resistant to infections caused by these microorganisms. In this paper, the adhesion of forty-five Salmonella spp. isolates to Sc47 was assessed by sedimentation and agglutination tests, and by light and electron microscopy. Results showed that 57.7% (26/45) of the isolates and 66.6% (6/9) of the Salmonella serovars tested adhered to the Sc47 cell wall.