Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays a vital role in brewing, baking, alternative protein production, and food biotechnology, but its performance often declines under high salt conditions typical of industrial fermentations. Salt stress causes water loss, cell shrinkage, and oxidative damage, resulting in impaired metabolism and reduced productivity. This limitation is increasingly significant as sustainable bioprocessing utilizes saline byproducts such as soybean meal extracts, fish sauce residue, whey permeate, and molasses. Enhancing yeast salt tolerance is therefore critical for reliable and scalable biomanufacturing. Osmolytes are small molecules that stabilize proteins, maintain turgor, and protect cellular integrity, yet their comparative effectiveness in improving Saccharomyces cerevisiae performance under food-relevant and industrial stress conditions remains unclear. Here, we present a systematic evaluation of major commercial osmolyte classes under salt stress. Myo-inositol, sucrose, and lactose significantly improved yeast growth, viability, and oxidative stress tolerance, supporting more robust and efficient bioprocessing using circular bioresources.
Sathaiah et al. (Mon,) studied this question.