Can probiotic be made just from sugar and water solution

[rajeshmarndi]

If I have a starter culture, i.e dry yeast powder and mixed, that in a solution of water and sugar. Would it produce a healthy probiotic drink. That is the probiotic that was present in the yeast powder multiplied in the sugar solution.

Generally such a probiotic drink is made from fruit fermentation(fruit + sugar + water + starter). Wouldn't the same be made without the fruit?

Thanks.

 

[jim mcnamara]

This is a vague question, IMO. Example: You don't specify the yeast you want to use. - see below*

Let's go back to square one. Probiotics are usually live bacteria and possibly some other types of single celled organisms. They are usually found in fermented foods like yogurt. Baker's yeast in the role of a probiotic is discussed in this review:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257658/ There are other papers by these same authors.

So your assumption that yeast is a probiotic may have some foundation. Generally the research has been on wild yeasts and Baker's yeast.

This is a guess based on this one review:
If you eat beans, lentils, and other legumes, then the phytate found in beans is hydrolyzed (phytate is an antinutrient == bad, hydrolyze == break down), improving mineral nutrient absorption.

Answer: in this limited context, yes. Yeast in sugar water allowed to bubble (ferment) for a while, and then drunk possibly has some positive effect. You might benefit from yogurt in other ways, so consider other sources.

*Is there some reason you cannot eat other fermented foods? And you do realize there are many kinds of wild yeasts, and other kinds of yeasts humans use other than baker's yeast. If you use Brewer's yeast, for example, you will get some ethanol (alcohol) in your drink, which may have other effects. Wild yeasts could render the drink very sour/bitter and make the drink unpalatable. You may have heard of "sourdough" bread, made by wild yeasts. Sometimes the bread made from brand new homemade starter is really awful tasting, for example.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Yeast cannot grow on only glucose. In addition to glucose, you would need some nitrogen source (e.g. ammonium sulfate) along with some trace vitamins and minerals (usually provided as a mix called yeast nitrogen base). See http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/0471142727.mb1301s23/pdf for more information about nutrients required for yeast growth.

Of course, growing yeast will not necessarily create a healthy probiotic. The exact composition of microorganisms in a probiotic that cause positive health effects is not very well understood (see https://nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics/introduction.htm for more information). In foods, "Probiotic" mostly a marketing term to generate hype about a product that is not regulated and does not imply any scientific evidence of safety or efficacy in treating conditions.

 

[rajeshmarndi]

Answer: in this limited context, yes. Yeast in sugar water allowed to bubble (ferment) for a while, and then drunk possibly has some positive effect. You might benefit from yogurt in other ways, so consider other sources.

*Is there some reason you cannot eat other fermented foods? And you do realize there are many kinds of wild yeasts, and other kinds of yeasts humans use other than baker's yeast. If you use Brewer's yeast, for example, you will get some ethanol (alcohol) in your drink, which may have other effects. Wild yeasts could render the drink very sour/bitter and make the drink unpalatable. You may have heard of "sourdough" bread, made by wild yeasts. Sometimes the bread made from brand new homemade starter is really awful tasting, for example.

Yogurt is easy to prepare, takes just a overnight. But since it is a dairy product, I avoid it.

I am using a commercial yeast(I do not know which yeast it is, but I guess it is bakers yeast as it has a picture of bread in it.) . SInce you mentioned Brewer's yeast and alcohol, I want to know does bakers yeast too form alcohol.

I fermented (apple+grapes + sugar + bakers yeast + water ) for 4 days and removed the fruits and collected only the liquid as drinks. I wanted to know is it good drinking the collected liquid(and referigerated) without mixing with water. I tried around 50-100ml, it was wine in taste and therefore gave slightly an alcoholic effect. Would this be highly concentrate and bad for health.

Since I am drinking only the liquid and not the fruits(as the apple become tasteless), I wanted to know , does adding fruits give any benefit, then.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Fruits add nutrition. As Ygggdrasil pointed out. The longer you ferment, the less carbohydrate is left behind, but mineral nutrition is unchanged. I do not know what you're doing but you cannot live solely on that drink for long periods. Please do not try. If you are a vegan, there are vegan probiotic products available in most large grocery stores in N Europe and N America. Some are questionable. You can learn to make most of them at home as well.

Probiotic Cook Book from Amazon: https://http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OYWMMJM/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[jim mcnamara]

@Ygggdrasil - I disagree with a blanket statement about gut microflora and human health being hoo-hah. You can go to pubmed and get literally hundreds of studies, some good, some weak. On the other hand the crud you see on the internet is mostly berserk consumerism. If that is what you meant, I'm with you.
But is is not clear to me in your post.

PS: he is using starter which is a mish mash of stuff, I assumed it had other ingredients. If he used pure yeast your comment about ammonium sulfate is dead on. But do think that is case.

But gut microflora studies are definitely not bogus science. Not the ones I've read on pubmed, for sure

@rajeshmarndi - if you chose to look up stuff about gut microflora you can preface your search like this: nih: [query goes here]
Yes, you'll get clinical papers and some research papers, there is also very good content there directed at non-scientists, on almost any topic.

 

[Sundog]

Side question- Why do probiotics typically deal with anaerobic bacteria and fermentation?

 

[jim mcnamara]

Anaerobic organisms are found where the oxygen levels are low - meromictic bodies of water, mammalian guts. And loads of other places including caves and crevices deep in the crust of the earth. The first living things were poisoned by oxygen, and there was very,very little if any in the early atmosphere. That is still true, so anerobic organisms only grow well in places with no oxygen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meromictic_lake

BTW please start new questions in new threads. Thank you.

 

[jim mcnamara]

This thread has run its course. Closed.