article · Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism
Postbiotics are metabolic byproducts generated by beneficial probiotic bacteria, encompassing organic acids, enzymes, and bacteriocins. Unlike probiotics, these non-viable compounds deliver antimicrobial and antioxidant benefits without requiring live micro-organisms. A review of existing literature demonstrates that postbiotics can effectively suppress major foodborne pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, and Escherichia coli. By inhibiting harmful bacterial growth, these substances show strong potential as alternatives to conventional food preservatives, helping to extend product shelf life. In addition to preserving food, postbiotics can modulate the human gut microbiome, prevent diseases linked to oxidative stress, and influence immune responses. Incorporating these functional ingredients into foods offers a promising dual strategy for lowering the incidence of foodborne illnesses and supporting general human health.
Contaminated food causes widespread disease and mortality worldwide. Because postbiotics do not rely on live microbes, they offer a more stable, natural option for food preservation compared to traditional probiotics. Utilising these compounds can help reduce foodborne contamination, extend the shelf life of groceries, and improve consumer health through better gut microbiome balance.
This research points towards applications in natural food preservation and functional food manufacturing. Food processors and ingredient manufacturers could utilise postbiotics to replace conventional chemical preservatives and formulate health-enhancing foods. Because the findings are drawn from a broad literature review evaluating existing research on bacterial inhibition and health benefits, the commercial pathway remains at an exploratory to early development stage, requiring practical formulation and testing for specific food products.
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Food safety is a global concern, with millions suffering from foodborne diseases annually. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports significant morbidity and mortality associated with contaminated food consumption, and this emphasizes the critical need for comprehensive food safety measures. Recent attention has turned to postbiotics, metabolic byproducts of probiotics, as potential agents for enhancing food safety. Postbiotics, including organic acids, enzymes, and bacteriocins, exhibit antimicrobial and antioxidant properties that do not require live organisms, and this offers advantages over probiotics. This literature review critically examines the role of postbiotics in gut microbiome modulation and applications in the food industry. Through an extensive review of existing literature, this study evaluates the impact of postbiotics on gut microbiome composition and their potential as functional food ingredients. Research indicates that postbiotics are effective in inhibiting food pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica , and Escherichia coli, as well as their ability to prevent oxidative stress‐related diseases, and they also show promise as alternatives to conventional food preservatives that can extend food shelf life by inhibiting harmful bacterial growth. Their application in functional foods contributes to improved gut health and reduced risk of foodborne illnesses. Findings suggest that postbiotics hold promise for improving health and preservation by inhibiting pathogenic bacteria growth and modulating immune responses.
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DOI: 10.1155/2024/1868161
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