Saccharomyces Boulardii

Alpha01 Saccharomyces Boulardii capsules are a food supplement with a single named yeast, printed on the pouch front as a yeast micro-organism. Each of the 90 capsules in the pouch is one full serving and gives 5 billion CFU of Saccharomyces boulardii. The shell is plant-derived hypromellose, and with only rice starch and safflower oil as the other ingredients, the capsules are suitable for vegans.

CFU stands for colony-forming units, the count of live cells able to grow. All 5 billion in each capsule come from one yeast, not a blend of bacteria. Saccharomyces boulardii, or S. boulardii for short, is a variant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the species behind baker’s and brewer’s yeast. It is named after Henri Boulard, the French scientist who first isolated it in the 1920s from lychee and mangosteen fruit. Our guide, Saccharomyces Boulardii Capsules: What Does 5 Billion CFU Mean?, explains what the number on the pouch counts, how this yeast differs from bacterial cultures and how to read the rest of the label.

Take one capsule daily with water, at whatever time suits your day. The pouch lasts 90 days and costs £8.99, about 10p a day. For a blend of bacteria instead, our Bio Cultures Complex 60 Billion capsules hold twenty named live cultures in a two-capsule serving, at about 33p a day. Store the pouch in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight and out of reach of young children; the label makes no mention of a fridge.