By: Dr. Clair Thunes, Ph.D.

If you look through the ingredient lists of equine feeds and supplements you may see listed saccharomyces cerevisiae, active dried yeast, brewers dried yeast, yeast culture or hydrolyzed yeast.  Yeast may be added to a horse’s diet for a number of reasons. The association of American Feed Control Officials, known as AAFCO, put several of these forms of yeast under plant protein products meaning that they are added to rations as a protein source.

There are official definitions for the various types of yeast which typically are set apart by the ways that the yeast has been processed or grown, or how it is derived. For example, active dry yeast is yeast which has been dried in such a way as to preserve a large portion of its fermenting power. It must contain no fewer than 15 billion live yeast cells per gram. Yeast culture is the dried product composed of either Saccharomyces cerevisiae and or Kluyveromyces marxianus and the media on which it was grown. It must be dried in such a way as to preserve the fermenting activity of the yeast. There are several different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and each bring slightly different properties. Hydrolyzed yeast is a concentrated, non-extracted, partially soluble yeast digest. The whole yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell has been hydrolyzed (split apart) using enzymes and what is left are beta-glucans and mannan oligosaccharides which act as prebiotics.

There are many reasons to add yeast to your horse’s ration beyond the added protein they provide but the most common is to support digestive tract health. However, some versions of yeast will support digestive tract health and the immune system better than others. Certain strains of yeast may help stabilize the gastrointestinal tract environment. Not only do they do this while adding protein to the ration, they also provide a source of B vitamins and other nutrients.

The easiest type of yeast for most people to get their hands on as a supplement is Brewers Yeast since you can buy this in most grocery stores. This is a dried non-fermentative, non-extracted yeast of botanical classification Saccharomyces that is the by-product of brewing beer. Brewer’s Yeast is essentially spent yeast cells. Brewer’s Yeast is required to contain no less than 35 percent protein making its predominant use a protein source as well as a good B vitamin supplement. However, unlike yeasts that are grown specifically for their benefits to digestive health and immune function, the variability of the yeast that can goes in to Brewer’s Yeast make for a variable end product.

EnviroEquine Organic Balancer Plus and Performance Plus both utilize yeast. Specifically, Diamond V XPC Green which is a yeast culture approved for use in Certified Organic feed that has been shown by multiple published studies to be beneficial to the horse. The reason for choosing yeast culture over Brewer’s Yeast, lies in the proven benefits and multitude of beneficial metabolites provided in the culture. Very specific strains are used in order to ensure repeatability of results and a quality product.

The XPC Green yeast culture used in EnviroEquine Organic Balancer Plus and Performance Plus has been heavily researched in both working and resting horses and found to support immune function, diet utilization, red blood cell numbers, blood oxygen carrying capacity as well as promoting the maintenance of healthy joints. Brewer’s yeast does not offer these proven benefits.

At EnviroEquine we are committed to using the best ingredients and wherever possible those ingredients with proven results backed by solid science. XPC Green yeast culture is one of very few yeasts available for use in equine feeds and supplements that is backed by independent university research trials as well as 8 human clinical research trials. When you feed Organic Balancer PLUS and Performance PLUS you can rest assured that you are feeding your horse nothing but the best combination of science and nature.

If you look through the ingredient lists of equine feeds and supplements, you may see listed saccharomyces cerevisiae, active dried yeast, brewers dried yeast, yeast culture or hydrolyzed yeast.  Yeast may be added to a horse’s diet for a number of reasons. The Association of American Feed Control Officials, known as AAFCO, put several of these forms of yeast under plant protein products, meaning that they are added to rations as a protein source.

There are official definitions for the various types of yeast, which typically are set apart by the ways that the yeast has been processed or grown, or how it is derived. For example, active dry yeast is yeast which has been dried in such a way as to preserve a large portion of its fermenting power. It must contain no fewer than 15 billion live yeast cells per gram. Yeast culture is the dried product composed of either Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Kluyveromyces marxianus and the media on which it was grown. It must be dried in such a way as to preserve the fermenting activity of the yeast. There are several different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and each bring slightly different properties. Hydrolyzed yeast is a concentrated, non-extracted, partially soluble yeast digest. The whole yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell has been hydrolyzed (split apart) using enzymes, and what is left are beta-glucans and mannan oligosaccharides, which act as prebiotics.

There are many reasons to add yeast to your horse’s ration beyond the added protein they provide, but the most common is to support digestive tract health. However, some versions of yeast will support digestive tract health and the immune system better than others. Certain strains of yeast may help stabilize the gastrointestinal tract environment. Not only do they do this while adding protein to the ration, they also provide a source of B vitamins and other nutrients.

The easiest type of yeast for most people to get their hands on as a supplement is Brewer’s Yeast since you can buy this in most grocery stores. This is a dried non-fermentative, non-extracted yeast of botanical classification Saccharomyces that is the by-product of brewing beer. Brewer’s Yeast is essentially spent yeast cells. Brewer’s Yeast is required to contain no less than 35 percent protein, making its predominant use a protein source as well as a good B vitamin supplement. However, unlike yeasts that are grown specifically for their benefits to digestive health and immune function, the variability of the yeast that can go into Brewer’s Yeast makes for a variable end product.

EnviroEquine Organic Balancer Plus and Performance Plus both utilize yeast. Specifically, Diamond V XPC Green, which is a yeast culture approved for use in Certified Organic feed that has been shown by multiple published studies to be beneficial to the horse. The reason for choosing yeast culture over Brewer’s Yeast lies in the proven benefits and multitude of beneficial metabolites provided in the culture. Very specific strains are used in order to ensure repeatability of results and a quality product.

The XPC Green yeast culture used in EnviroEquine Organic Balancer Plus and Performance Plus has been heavily researched in both working and resting horses and found to support immune function, diet utilization, red blood cell numbers, blood oxygen carrying capacity as well as promoting the maintenance of healthy joints. Brewer’s yeast does not offer these proven benefits.

At EnviroEquine we are committed to using the best ingredients and wherever possible those ingredients with proven results backed by solid science. XPC Green yeast culture is one of very few yeasts available for use in equine feeds and supplements that is backed by independent university research trials as well as 8 human clinical research trials. When you feed Organic Balancer PLUS and Performance PLUS you can rest assured that you are feeding your horse nothing but the best combination of science and nature.

Summary:

• Brewer’s yeast is made up of spent yeast cells that are left over from the production of beer whereas the yeast culture in Balancer PLUS and Performance PLUS is created specifically for the purpose of supporting equine health.
• The yeast culture in Balancer PLUS and Performance PLUS provide over 200 metabolites including polyphenols, nucleotides, peptides, prebiotics, and organic acids. As spent yeast cells, Brewer’s Yeast does not provide such an array of beneficial metabolites.
• Unlike Brewer’s Yeast, the yeast culture in Balancer PLUS and Performance PLUS has been proven to improve equine red blood cell numbers, oxygen carrying capacity and decrease blood lactate levels in working horses.