Postbiotics: Functional Food Materials and Therapeutic Agents for Cancer, Diabetes, and Inflammatory Diseases

Abstract

Postbiotics are (i) “soluble factors secreted by live bacteria, or released after bacterial lysis, such as enzymes, peptides, teichoic acids, peptidoglycan-derived muropeptides, polysaccharides, cell-surface proteins and organic acids”; (ii) “non-viable metabolites produced by microorganisms that exert biological effects on the hosts”; and (iii) “compounds produced by microorganisms, released from food components or microbial constituents, including non-viable cells that, when administered in adequate amounts, promote health and wellbeing”. A probiotic- and prebiotic-rich diet ensures an adequate supply of these vital nutrients. During the anaerobic fermentation of organic nutrients, such as prebiotics, postbiotics act as a benevolent bioactive molecule matrix. Postbiotics can be used as functional components in the food industry by offering a number of advantages, such as being added to foods that are harmful to probiotic survival. Postbiotic supplements have grown in popularity in the food, cosmetic, and healthcare industries because of their numerous health advantages. Their classification depends on various factors, including the type of microorganism, structural composition, and physiological functions. This review offers a succinct introduction to postbiotics while discussing their salient features and classification, production, purification, characterization, biological functions, and applications in the food industry. Furthermore, their therapeutic mechanisms as antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory agents are elucidated.

Postbiotics from Lactobacillus delbrueckii Alleviate Intestinal Inflammation by Promoting the Expansion of Intestinal Stem Cells in S. Typhimurium-Induced Mice

“…Postbiotics are considered as alternatives to probiotics because of their stability and safety. They have been reported to enhance the intestinal barrier and modulate host immunity [ 21 ]. Li et al observed that viable, inactivated, or lysed L. plantarum H6 reduced liver injury, modulated the microbiota composition, altered intestinal amino acid metabolism, decreased the relative concentration of primary bile acids, and effectively improved hypercholesterolemia in mice [ 22 ].…”

Unraveling the antimicrobial potential of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strains TE0907 and TE1809 sourced from Bufo gargarizans: advancing the frontier of probiotic-based therapeutics

“…L. plantarum strains with superior probiotic properties play a pivotal role in maintaining gut microbial homeostasis, offering targeted treatment against pathogens, and mitigating the overuse of antibiotics (Gurunathan et al, 2023 ). In this research, through a combination of bacterial genomic sequencing and GC-MS spectrometry analysis, we, for the first time, unveiled the mechanistic actions and associated functional genes of two L. plantarum strains derived from B. gargarizans in terms of their antimicrobial activity and their capability to modulate the gut microbial composition.…”

Effect of Alginate Coating Enriched with Postbiotics Derived from Bifidobacterium bifidum Strains on Microbial and Physicochemical Quality of Turkey Breast Meat

“…Since postbiotics contain phenolic components, short-chain fatty acids, exopolysaccharides, etc., have high antioxidant activities, and have many positive effects on health (strengthening the immune system, anti-tumor effect, etc. ), many studies have been conducted on their use as both functional food and nutraceuticals [33,34]. It is thought that the biological coating of fresh turkey breast meat also creates a functional food.…”