Saccharomyces boulardii as a probiotic yeast in food applications and its health properties: a review and future perspectives

Saccharomyces boulardii is currently the only probiotic yeast with established clinical validation for use in both humans and livestock. It exhibits unique advantages that are difficult to achieve with conventional probiotics, including resistance to gastric acid and antibiotics, as well as broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Moreover, through the secretion of bioactive metabolites, S. boulardii can improve food quality and contribute to the management of digestive disorders. Consequently, it has gained increasing attention in functional ingredients (FI), fermented foods (FF), and foods for special medical purposes (FSMP). This review involves reviewing and screening relevant scientific literature to conduct a critical bibliometric analysis. This review provides a systematic review of the physiological characteristics, mechanisms of action, applications in food systems, application scope, and clinically validated health benefits of S. boulardii . These benefits include modulation of the gut microbiota, enhancement of immune function, and alleviation of symptoms associated with gastrointestinal disorders. The review also covers advances in genetic engineering approaches aimed at enhancing its probiotic functions, as well as the technical, regulatory, and safety limitations associated with its application in food products. Finally, in light of current bottlenecks associated with its industrial application, future research directions are proposed.