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Saccharomyces Products – which one do I feed?

Digest-Rite or Diamond V XPC, do they do the same job?

Digest-Rite www.hvhoofandequinehealthcareproducts.com/product-page/digest-rite-sport-2kg is a fungal toxin binder and diamond v www.hvhoofandequinehealthcareproducts.com/product-page/balanced-equine-nutrition-diamond-v-xpc-2-kg is a prebiotic to support robust gut function (microbial fermentation). The question I’m asked is do you need any of these?

First of all, what is Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a single-celled eukaryote (yeast/fungi – brewers yeast) that is frequently used in scientific research and has many applications. The advantages are that its genome has been sequenced, its genetics are easily manipulated, and it is very easy to maintain in a lab. Historically it was mainly used in the production of food and winemaking and is believed to have been originally isolated from the skin of grapes. Studies with S. cerevisiae have contributed to our understanding of important cellular processes such as the cell cycle, aging, and cell death, protein purification and the study of DNA repair mechanisms and other cellular processes related to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

I’m not sure of the exact number but there are so many products that are made from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and they all have different jobs, as they are different strains. The difference can come from the different substrates for the fermentation by S. cerevisiae, what these ‘critters’ are fed. Some are patented like Diamond V XPC (Diamond V) and Sports-Rite. Diamond V XPC is a prebiotic which means food for gut microbes, to boost their populations. Sports-Rite is a fungal toxin binder. These two products, even though it’s the same species of yeast, they are not the same as they are different patented strains.

The Medina et al study showed that S. cerevisiae strain/preparation helped prevent colonic acidosis in horses on crazy high grain diets. The Newbold et al study on S. cerevisiae showed how different strains were effective for sheep.

So to sum up, the different strain or type of S. cerevisiae product can have different jobs/activities.

Do you need these products?

Yes to Sports-Rite if you are concerned about your hay being mouldy or are experiencing a fungus outbreak in your pasture, for example, Paspalum ergot fungus or certain strains of endophyte perennial Rye grass, consider a toxin binder. These plants and others are renowned for causing photosynthesisation, signs are sunburn and blistering on pink skin on faces and pasterns (generic term, greasy heel or mud fever). When an animal consumes a plant or chemical containing these pigments (eg. polyphenolic), the pigments circulate to the skin where they are exposed to UV light, fluoresce and cause oxidative injury to the cells of the skin. Liver damage in a horse might not be noticed until the animal develops photosensitisation.

There are clay type toxin binders available based on bentonite or zeolite but the major disadvantage is that they are known to bind minerals like copper and zinc. This is why vets may recommend short term use if your horse has acute infectious diarrhoea, may prevent intestinal absorption of toxic minerals. Best to consult your vet. Another disadvantage is these clay based products are very high in iron (dirt in a bucket). Montmorillonite is the primary clay type in bentonite. An example of a study looking at this was done by Tomasevic-Canovic et al, link below.

Zeolite can absorb aflatoxin but *not* other toxins. It can absorb molecular minerals with a positive charge but they must be in dissolved form and it will bind the nutritionally important minerals as well as toxins.

Diamond V XPC is a prebiotic, supporting the growth of intestinal bacteria as it’s used as a food source. If your horse is exhibiting a hay or grass belly OR have a degree of diarrhoea then Diamond V XPC may well help. The XPC means it’s 4x more concentrated than Diamond V. Best to consult your vet as there are veterinary conditions that cause diarrhoea.

What is brewer’s yeast?

Brewer’s yeast, what you can often buy cheaply at stockfeed suppliers is known as ‘spent’ S. cerevisiae. When sold as a dietary supplement it is typically spent/dead and fed primarily for B vitamins.

Note: If your horse has robust gut function and is not on a crazy high grain intake then probably not necessary to consider B vitamin supplementation as horses gain B vitamins from what they eat (grass/hay) and gut microbes produce all the B vitamins. The best source is green grass.

If you think your horse needs more biotin, Balanced Equine has biotin in the HoofXtra Mix www.hvhoofandequinehealthcareproducts.com/product-page/balanced-equine-hoof .And the high concentrated single ingredient Balanced Equine Biotin. www.hvhoofandequinehealthcareproducts.com/product-page/balance-equine-nutrition-biotin-450-g

Saccharomyces Products – which one do I feed?

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First of all, what is Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

Do you need these products?

What is brewer’s yeast?

Further reading: