Postbiotics in Human Health: A Narrative Review

Abstract

In the 21st century, compressive health and functional foods are advocated by increasingly more people in order to eliminate sub-health conditions. Probiotics and postbiotics have gradually become the focus of scientific and nutrition communities. With the maturity and wide application of probiotics, the safety concerns and other disadvantages are non-negligible as we review here. As new-era products, postbiotics continue to have considerable potential as well as plentiful drawbacks to optimize. “Postbiotic” has been defined as a “preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host”. Here, the evolution of the concept “postbiotics” is reviewed. The underlying mechanisms of postbiotic action are discussed. Current insight suggests that postbiotics exert efficacy through protective modulation, fortifying the epithelial barrier and modulation of immune responses. Finally, we provide an overview of the comparative advantages and the current application in the food industry at pharmaceutical and biomedical levels.

Both Saccharomyces boulardii and Its Postbiotics Alleviate Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis in Mice, Association with Modulating Inflammation and Intestinal Microbiota

“…In conclusion, postbiotics as an extension direction of probiotics has great potential, such as how Lactobacillus plantarum -derived postbiotics ameliorate acute alcohol-induced liver injury [ 59 ]. Therefore, the multiple applications of postbiotics will be an effective supplement to probiotics and a driving force for the development of the total health industry [ 60 ].…”

Designing healthier and more sustainable ultraprocessed foods

“…Probiotics are viable bacteria capable of colonizing the large intestine and providing health benefits when consumed in sufficient amounts (Ballini et al, 2023;Kerry et al, 2018). In contrast, postbiotics are non-viable bacteria that may provide health benefits when consumed because their constituents or metabolites are absorbed and utilized by the human body, or because they are metabolized and fermented by living beneficial bacteria in the colon (Ma et al, 2023). Fortification of UPFs with prebiotics, probiotics, or postbiotics may therefore enhance their nutritional profile (Carlson & Slavin, 2016;Dahiya & Nigam, 2022).…”

A review for non-antibiotic treatment of Helicobacter pylori: new insight

“…Lactobacillus acidophilus in lyophilized and inactivated form significantly boosts H. pylori eradication rates when added to a standard anti- H. pylori regimen, owing to its strong adhesion to human intestine absorptive and mucous-secreting cells. Given its safety and high patient compliance, it is a simple addition to traditional anti- H. pylori antibiotic treatments ( Ma et al, 2023 ). There is scant evidence that postbiotics are effective in treating human diseases.…”