Beyond probiotics the Postbiotics

Abstract

Postbiotics are defined as “any factor resulting from the metabolic activity of a probiotic or any released molecule capable of conferring beneficial effects to the host in a direct or indirect way.1 The term postbiotic was introduced to describe a product containing dead microorganisms and their metabolites such as soluble factors secreted by live bacteria or released after bacterial lysis, including enzymes, peptides, teichoic acids, cell surface proteins, polysaccharides, and organic acids.2 Postbiotics are also known as: “Para probiotics”, “Non-viable probiotics”, “Inactivated probiotics”, “Ghost probiotics”, or “Metabiotic, biogenic”. All are inactivated microbial cells, which, when administered in sufficient amounts, confer benefits to consumers.1,3