Table 1 provides an overview of the main groups of postbiotics studied to date and their microbial producers. Further to these, bacte- riocins are receiving ever greater attention as they hold the potential to act as alternatives to antibiotics. Bacteriocins are complex peptides and proteins produced by bacteria capable of forming pores in the membranes of other bac- teria, inhibiting microbial cell wall synthesis. There are several classes of bacteriocins. In particular, nisins (lantibiotics) are small proteo- lytic and heat-resistant peptides with potent antimicrobial properties capable of inhibiting the growth of emerging pathobionts, including Staphylococcus aureus, Cutibacterium acnes, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Bacillus, Clostridi- um, Enterococcus, Mycobacterium, and Strep- tococcus strains (Vera-Santander et al., 2022). This bacteriocin is predominantly produced by Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and is approved by the FDA as a Generally Recognized as Safe Additive (“GRAS”) (Makhal et al., 2015).
al preparations in commercial products.
Postbiotics, compared to probiotics are more stable, have a better stability over time and better shelf-life, all of which significantly help with handling, transportation, and storage (Dunand et al., 2019). Consequently, postbi- otics can serve as an excellent alternative for live probiotics, since they do not require strict storage or transportation conditions, such as a cold chain. Postbiotics are found natu- rally in many fermented foods. However, the quantity present may not be sufficient to in- duce tangible physiological responses. While postbiotics hold great potential for addition to functional foods, improved scalable produc- tion techniques need to be developed first. Once consumed, postbiotics can be easily ab- sorbed and metabolized by the human body, which allow them to trigger several biological responses within tissues and organs that can further benefit the consumer. To ensure the op- timal effectiveness of postbiotic preparations, several technological aspects related to post- biotic production should be considered, such as growth medium, either in the microbial feed or a selective culture medium (e.g., MRS broth) and culture growth conditions (e.g., tempera- ture, pH, substrates, and water).
POSTBIOTIC PRODUCT APPLICATIONS
Postbiotics, similar to probiotics can be in- corporated into dietary supplements or food products, with an important difference, that postbiotics have demonstrated certain techno- logical advantages over the use of live microbi-
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