Beer yeast used to make new medicines
Researchers have discovered that beer yeast is the main ingredient in a “green-tech breakthrough” for creating new medicines.
The discovery, which was made by Scientists at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in collaboration with researchers from Japan, China, Switzerland and Italy, has resulted in being able to rapidly analyse a macrocyclic peptides used in modern medicine.
The research, published in Nature Communications, uses the brewer’s yeast to turn the organisms into “miniature fluorescent factories, each capable of creating a unique peptide with potential therapeutic applications”.
According to the scientists, macrocyclic peptides are promising drugs because they combine precision targeting, stability, and safety, offering fewer side effects than traditional drugs.
Added to this, the research noted how, conventional methods for discovering and testing the peptides had often been complex, difficult to control, slow, and environmentally unfriendly, but that the beer yeast method was a game changer.
Sara Linciano, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at Ca’ Foscari’s Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems said: “We manipulated yeast cells so that each one functions as a ‘micro-factory’ that becomes fluorescent when producing a specific compound. This allowed us to analyse 100 million different peptides rapidly and effectively.”
Ylenia Mazzocato, co-leader of the study, pointed out the sustainability benefits of the approach using the brewers yeast.
Mazzocato explained: “By exploiting the natural machinery of yeast, we produce peptide molecules that are biocompatible and biodegradable, making them safe for health and the environment, a truly ‘green pharma’ approach.”
Zhanna Romanyuk, who contributed to the structural analysis, also mentioned the accuracy of using the yeast.
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Romanyuk noted: “Using X-ray crystallography, we demonstrated the excellent binding properties of these peptides, confirming their precision and potency.”
According to the research, the new method offers “significant advancements for drug discovery, especially for challenging targets that conventional drugs cannot easily address”.
Alessandro Angelini, associate professor and study coordinator, added: “We are pushing the boundaries of this technology to create macrocyclic peptides that can deliver advanced therapies directly to specific cells, potentially revolutionising treatments. This could greatly benefit patient health and have substantial scientific and economic impacts.”
This work was part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), supported by the European Union’s Next Generation EU initiative, involving multidisciplinary teams from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Padova, and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), including experts in chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry, and computational sciences.
Part of the new technology has already been patented by Ca’ Foscari and was recently acquired by the startup Arzanya S.r.l, showing its value and potential for modern medicine.
Last year, scientists discovered the incredible power of beer yeast, helping with both the recycling of electronic scrap material and making water clean by removing lead.
Beer yeast, derived from the beer brewing fermentation process, continues to be in high demand now that it is also being more broadly used in vegan food products. As a result of the increased number of uses for the yeast, this could also see the ingredient going up in price.
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