Brazilian researchers have developed functional bread with the potential to prevent asthma, a respiratory disorder responsible for some 350,000 hospitalizations per year in the SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde), the nation's public health care network.

It contains Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFMG A-905, a strain of brewer’s yeast with probiotic properties that has been shown to attenuate the symptoms of asthma in mice.

Asthmatic patients can benefit from ingestion of probiotics thanks to the link with gut microbiota.These beneficial bacteria are typically administered on their own or blended with dairy products such as milk, yogurt and kefir, but nothing prevents the use of other vehicles, which is advisable for patients who suffer from lactose intolerance or milk protein allergy.

In this study researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) included S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 in naturally fermented bread for the first time.