Floramyces

Deigns of Health Floramyces provides 500mg of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Boulardii) per capsule.

  - Supports intestinal beneficial flora

  - Relieves diarrhoea

  - Helps reduce the occurrence of symptoms of traveller’s diarrhoea when travelling

  - Maintains healthy digestive system function

  - Supports beneficial gut flora during antibiotic use in adults and children

  - Shelf-stable, low-excipient, dairy-free formula

A probiotic yeast

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Boulardii) (also known as Saccharomyces boulardii or SB) is an unusual probiotic. Most probiotics are beneficial bacteria, but S. boulardii is a yeast. Unrelated to the yeasts which can cause disease, like candida, S. boulardii was identified in the 1920s as an antidiarrhoeal agent after the microbiologist Henri Boulard found that indigenous peoples who consumed a drink prepared from mangosteen and lychee skins did not develop diarrhoea. An important function of the intestinal epithelium is to act as a barrier to prevent bacteria and other microorganisms from crossing into the body tissues. The tight junctions between epithelial cells can widen due to lifestyle, disease or pathogens, compromising the barrier. One way in which S. boulardii protects against infection is by maintaining the structure of tight junctions. When certain pathogenic bacteria enter into the intestinal lumen, the presence of S. boulardii can mitigate the harmful effect. Not only by maintenance of the tight junctions but also by acting directly on the pathogen. An oft-studied pathogen, and the effect of S. boulardii on it, is Clostridium difficile. C. difficile emits two toxins, toxin A and toxin B, which are pro-inflammatory. Animal models propose two mechanisms of action of S. boulardii during C. difficile infection: inhibition of adhesion of toxin A to its receptor, and an immunomodulatory effect whereby S. boulardii increases the circulation of anti-toxin A. Supplementation with S. boulardii has been found to increase levels of Bacteroides and decrease the relative level of Firmicutes. Low levels of Bacteroides have been associated with inflammation of the gut. A high level of Firmicutes is thought to be associated with weight gain. It is likely that dysbiosis is a causal factor to these complaints, rather than a side-effect.