Baker's yeast protects against fatal diseases
By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 10 August 2011, 21:47 IST
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Washington: Simple baker's yeast can keep at bay fatal fungal infection like aspergillosis which can cause kidney and liver failure, says a new study. Aspergillosis is the leading fungal killer that attacks the lungs and can migrate to the brain. Mice injected thrice with dead baker's yeast one week apart, were able to survive high doses of Aspergillus -- the fungus that causes aspergillosis. They also showed a reduced infection load in their organs, the Journal of Medical Microbiology reports. David A. Stevens, of Santa Clara Valley Medical Centre, in whose lab the studies were conducted, said: "The simple preparation... also protect(s) against infection due to three other fungi that cause human diseases - Candida, Cryptococcus and Coccidioides," Stevens added. "Research to date, including our study, supports the development of a yeast vaccine against all pathogenic fungi that infect humans," said Stevens. The finding opens the way to developing a human vaccine that protects immunodeficiency against a range of fungal infections. Immunodeficiency implies a defective immune response which renders people less capable of battling infections.