Postbiotics; Next-generation Probiotics

Although for a long time it was thought that the health benefits of probiotics depend on their viability but, in the last decade, studies have shown that the passive form of these bacteria (non-viable), microbial fractions, and cell lysates also offer physiological benefits to the host. Thus from 2011 onwards, new terms such as postbiotic have emerged, indicating that viability is not necessary for health-promoting effects of probiotics. Postbiotics refers to soluble factors secreted by live bacteria or released after bacterial lysis including, enzymes, peptides, polysaccharides, organic acids, teichoic acids, and cell surface proteins. Treatment of some diseases in human and animals has been demonstrated in case of using these postbiotics. Identification of postbiotics can be associated with the production and development of drug formulations without live bacteria. With this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive picture of the postbiotics, their production and identification methods, and their application in food and pharrmaceutical industries.