Beneficial Effects of Post-biotics on Food Products and its Effect on Human Health: a Critical Review

The human intestinal microbiota is a collection of microorganisms that reside in the gastrointestinal tract and there is a direct link between the presence of beneficial microbiota and the development of immune function, the nervous system and the host metabolic pathways.  Probiotics are known to be non-pathogenic microorganisms that, if taken in sufficient amounts, can have health effects. Therefore, consumption of foods or supplements containing post-biotic compounds is one of the most important strategies to balance the microbiota and to improve the health of the host. Evidence suggests that post-biotics do not require survival compared to their parent probiotic cells and can produce health-like effects similar to probiotics. Also, the production and use of post-biotics is safer, more stable and more cost-effective. Post-biotics have biological activity, including immune modulating, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer activity.  Clinical studies also confirm the efficacy of probiotics as an effective factor in improving the treatment of a wide range of diseases such as ulcerative colitis, acute infectious diarrhea, antibiotic resistant diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, necrotic enteritis, liver disorders, and gastrointestinal cancers. In this study, a review of the concept of post-biotics and classification of post-biotics has been done based on type and chemical composition and physiological activities and promising effects on prevention or improvement in treatment methods as well as delaying spoilage and increasing shelf life in food products.