Abstract: Yeast is closely related to our daily life and is widely used in the food, beverage, feed and industrial alcohol fields. Apart from functioning as a fermentation starter, yeast shows important probiotic properties. Compared with traditional probiotics, yeast is more effective in the treatment of diarrhea, immunity improvement and nutritional enhancement. In addition, yeast produces metabolites (carbon dioxide and ethanol) that contributes positively to the varieties and flavor of foods. While numerous studies about the application of yeast have been reported, its probiotic function has been rarely concerned. In this paper, we review recent applications of yeast in antibacterial treatment, lowering cholesterol levels and diarrhea treatment, as well as in the production of alcohol, dairy products and enzymes. Besides, the safety, application limitations and prospects of yeast are also discussed.

Key words: yeast; probiotic; function food; safety; limitation