RESEARCH: LIVE YEAST CULTURE

Many of the beneficial production responses associated with the use of live yeast culture supplements in cattle may be related to their stimulatory effects on microorganisms within the digestive system. Research into the potential benefits of live yeast culture supplementation in horses is limited. Of the available horse studies, many have reported enhanced fiber digestion with high forage diets. Recent research from France has looked at the mechanism of action for enhanced fiber digestion in horses fed either high fiber or high starch diets with and without live yeast culture. In that study, horses were supplemented with either 0 or 10 grams of live yeast culture (Yea-Sacc®1026, Alltech Inc.). Horses fed the live yeast culture had bacteria with a significantly higher cellulolytic activity compared to horses not fed live yeast culture. This enhanced activity of the cellulolytic bacteria is thought to contribute to the improvement of fiber digestion in the horses’ digestive system when fed high fiber diets. Performance Horse Nutrition, LLC utilizes live yeast culture in several horse feed formulas to enhance fiber digestion. “Effects of live yeast culture on the microbial enzymatic activities in the equine hindgut fed high fiber or high starch diets.”

2001 Equine Nutrition and Physiology Symposium. Pg. 474.