Supplements & functional ingredients
from their growth medium – for example, the food source that the probiotics are grown in – the cell- free source can still produce some positive effects, including boosting the immune system. This is because some postbiotics are produced in the food, even if all living probiotics have been removed, for example, some exopolysaccharides and vitamins remain active and do not degrade in food before they are consumed.
According to the experts, eating probiotic and prebiotic foods is the best way to increase postbiotics uptake.
gut microbiota activities plays a pivotal part in maintaining overall good health. “We know [postbiotics] stimulate our immune system, they can fight against bad pathogenic microorganisms,” Renanadheera notes. One example is the exopolysaccharides produced by Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. Bulgaricus – one of the starter culture bacteria used to produce yoghurt – which has even been shown to enhance the activity of the body’s natural killer cells. Renanadheera’s research has also found postbiotic short-chain fatty acids produced by the digestion of fibre-rich plant foods can also lower the risk of colon cancer. These cancer-protective metabolites, as they are considered, have shown some positive effects on breast cancer patients, too. In summary, the authors of the comprehensive review, ‘The clinical evidence of postbiotics as microbial therapeutics’ published in Gut Microbes, also concluded: “There is growing evidence for the clinical benefits of postbiotics in the management of highly prevalent conditions including gastrointestinal, dermatological and neurological disorders as well as respiratory infections and metabolic syndrome. Postbiotics may offer a novel therapeutic approach for these conditions.” However, it is important to remember that it is still early days for postbiotic research and much of what has been conducted so far has been cellular- based lab experiments or performed on animals. In fact, the concept of postbiotics is still so relatively new, that the process of defining them remains a work in progress. In an article in Nature Review, Renanadheera was among the authors who contested the aforementioned definition from the ISAPP. Key to their objection was that under the ISAPP’s term, postbiotics would be grouped with inactivated microorganisms or dead probiotics and their products. Recent research has shown that even if the probiotic cells are removed completely
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Renanadheera and his team, however, argue that grouping these dead probiotics with probiotic by-products under one definition would generate confusion. “So, are they probiotics or postbiotics? Because probiotics need to be living at the time of consumption, but what about if you consume dead probiotics in your yoghurt? They’re not metabolites.” While the exact perimeters of the definition are still being defined, Renanadheera and much of the scientific community are convinced of their benefits to support the body’s immune system. It is this grey area of dead probiotics, moreover, that Renanadheera seems to believe will be where the next big breakthrough will occur. When asked if he thinks we understand the full extent of the benefits of postbiotics, Renanadheera is adamant: “No, not yet; we have no idea.” For now, all we know is that it is generally advised that the best thing to do for gut health is to continue eating probiotic containing foods, such as cottage cheese and sauerkraut. This is because they contain both the postbiotics that are produced during fermentation as well as living probiotics, which will continue to release more postbiotics into the gut. This synergistic potential is another reason Renanadheera advocates for consuming postbiotics through diet rather than supplements – as he also points out that this combination of biotic benefits is often more time and cost-efficient, too. “Now, we know that gut microorganisms have a significant effect on a person’s health outcome, [and] gut microbes by microorganisms are very closely associated with probiotics, prebiotics, and now postbiotics,” Renanadheera explains. As scientists like himself continue to talk in support of the gut- brain axis, it is as though we are returning to those very early ideas of Hippocrates; except this time, we are armed with more knowledge and technology to understand how to harness the very best of our food. “We didn’t know about postbiotics before, but now, bit by bit via unveiling and discovering new things. Maybe [in the] next ten years, we might discuss certain other compounds as well,” Renanadheera concludes. “New things are always coming into, but this is really, really exciting for me as a probiotics researcher.” And after hearing from him, this enthusiasm for postbiotics is hard not to share. ●
Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
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