A Critical Analysis of Postbiotics: Exploring their Potential Impact on the Health and Food Industries

Abstract

Postbiotics are an emerging field in gut and gastroenterological research. Despite it being a vast field, limited scientific research has been conducted on this topic. Postbiotics are functional bioactive compounds generated in the cell wall matrix during fermentation that may be used to promote health. Postbiotics play a critical role in human immune development against communicable and noncommunicable diseases. This review focuses on the recent advances and future perspectives of postbiotics in health and food science. The review also discussed the criteria and different types of postbiotics and elucidated the significance of postbiotics. The paper further reviewed the role of postbiotics as preservatives, active ingredients in packaging systems, anti-biofilm agents, and decontaminant agents in food processing industries.