Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 31, 2025
Cheek Injection Model for Simultaneous Measurement of Pain and Itch-related Behaviors
Published on: September 27, 2019
Yeast extract demonstrates rapid itch relief in chronic pruritus
Yiyi Zhang1, Yimei Tan1,2, Ying Zou1
1Department of Skin & Cosmetic Research, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Background:
Pruritus is the most common complaint encountered in dermatological practice. It is estimated that up to 4% of the world population suffers from chronic itch. Chronic pruritus can be associated with both cutaneous or systemic conditions. While a plethora of treatments attempt to address itch, most carry risk of significant adverse events with chronic use; thus, there exists an unmet need to develop safe treatments for chronic pruritus. A recent study demonstrated that a novel extract from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, that is, Baker's yeast, blocks various histamine receptors as well as inhibits numerous inflammatory cytokines.
Methods:
Given the long-term safety profile of Baker's yeast, we set to investigate the efficacy of the novel extract in the treatment of chronic pruritus.
Key Results:
In our study, we demonstrated that within 30 minutes, the novel extract significantly reduced itch when compared to a placebo lotion (P = .0020).
Conclusions:
To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that a novel extract from Saccharomyces cerevisiae can provide rapid and sustained itch relief to chronic pruritus patients.
