FAQ Heavy Release | Understand 20 Hot Topics about Shengyuan (Part 2)

"20 FAQs about Postbiotics (Chinese)" -PostbioticsDevelopment Trends to Application Areas
 

II. Development Trends
 

10 How is the current state of the global postbiotics industry?

Due to the good characteristics of postbiotics, the industry has regarded postbiotics as the fourth generation of microecological products following probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics. At the same time, driven by the increasing health awareness and demand for health foods, postbiotics are gradually favored by people due to their diverse potential effects and better stability.Probiotics、益生元和合生制剂之后的第四代微生态产品。同时在人们保健意识提升、健康食品需求增加的推动下，后生元因其多样的潜在功效以及较好的稳定性，逐渐受到人们的青睐。
Nowadays, postbiotics are considered by the industry as a potential alternative to probiotics. Research and results involving postbiotics are increasing from in vitro experiments, animal experiments to clinical trials. Major food companies around the world are also committed to the research and development of postbiotic-related products, especially in developed regions such as Japan, North America, and Europe, where the postbiotics industry chain is taking shape, and the commercialization process is continuously advancing, with postbiotic-related products gradually entering the market.
 

Japan, as the most mature market for probiotics globally, is also leading the world in the commercialization of postbiotics. Companies such as Asahi, Kirin, Nissin, and Morinaga have successively launched postbiotic products, including nutritional supplements, lactic acid drinks, tofu, baked goods, snacks, and noodles. Among them, fermented infant formula containing postbiotics is also being sold in South America, the Middle East, and some European markets.
 

As countries that started the probiotics industry earlier, Europe and the United States also play an important role in promoting the global development of postbiotics. Postbiotic products are continuously being launched in the market, with North America being the most prominent, and they are spreading to Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Cargill has acquired the microbial fermentation product manufacturer DiamondV and launched the postbiotic preparation EpiCor, while the German company Novozymes has launched the MONO sterilized version of the health product Pylopass for treating Helicobacter pylori.

Compared to markets like Japan and Europe and the United States, research and application of postbiotics in China are relatively slow, and the postbiotics industry is still in its infancy. Companies such as China Resources Jiangzhong, Keta Bio, and Jinqi Bio are actively researching and laying out postbiotics. Given the research boom in the scientific community, the vigorous development of foreign markets, and the push from consumer demand, the application of postbiotics in China is bound to gradually expand and be pushed to the market.

Of course, overall, compared to probiotics, the postbiotics industry is still in the early exploratory stage, with huge potential and significant uncertainties.

III. Processing and Testing
 

11 What are the key technical control points and quality monitoring points in the production of postbiotics?

(1)Fermentation strains: Different microorganisms exhibit different physiological characteristics, and during their growth, they will show different physiological states and metabolic characteristics, which will have different effects on the components of postbiotics.

(2)Cultivation conditions of strains: The types and quantities of metabolites produced by the same microorganism under different cultivation conditions are not completely the same, thus affecting the components of postbiotics.

(3)Microbial cell inactivation procedures or techniques: When inactivating the cells, different inactivation methods and operational procedures will have different effects on the components of postbiotics, leading to different effects of postbiotics.

(4)Characterization and quantification of postbiotic components: Since postbiotics are classified differently based on their components, and the content of components varies among different postbiotics, specific descriptions and quantifications of postbiotic components are needed in their characterization and production.
 

12 Inactivating microorganisms is a key step in the production process of postbiotics. What are the common methods and precautions?

Common inactivation methods mainly include heat treatment, ultraviolet light, high pressure, enzyme treatment, and ultrasonic treatment. After cell inactivation and lysis, further extraction and purification techniques such as centrifugation, dialysis, freeze-drying, and column purification are needed to complete the preparation of postbiotics.

It is worth noting that some inactivation methods only change the cellular structure of microorganisms (such as DNA breakage, cell membrane damage) and/or physiological functions (such as key enzyme inactivation or membrane selective inactivation), leading to loss of vitality, but do not destroy the complete structure of the cell membrane and cell wall necessary for maintaining cell function.

Additionally, it should be noted that different inactivation methods have varying effects on cellular structural components and biological activity. For example, if the active component of postbiotics is an enzyme, heat treatment may inactivate the enzyme, thereby reducing the biological activity of postbiotics. Therefore, in the actual production and application of postbiotics, appropriate microbial inactivation methods should be selected based on demand.
 

13 How to quantify postbiotic products?

In microbial analysis and quantification, the main methods used abroad include bacterial counting plates and flow cytometry. Currently, flow cytometry is gradually replacing traditional counting methods because it is not only fast but also can distinguish between live cells, damaged cells, and dead cells. The principle of flow cytometry is to use cell-permeable and non-permeable nuclear dyes for dual staining to distinguish cells in different states. For example, when using thiazole orange (which can permeate cells) and propidium iodide (which can only enter damaged cells) for staining, live bacteria with intact cell membranes emit green fluorescence, bacteria with slightly damaged membranes emit both green and red fluorescence, while bacteria with ruptured membranes emit red fluorescence. Considering that flow cytometry has been applied in the detection of probiotic products, many scholars believe it is more likely to be used for the detection of postbiotic products.

In addition to the above methods, alternative analysis methods for analyzing and quantifying microbial biomass include methods based on proteomics and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, real-time PCR, droplet digital PCR, NMR, atomic force spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, but the above technologies are rarely used in industry.
 

In addition, due to the potential lysis of microbial cells after inactivation treatment, which may interfere with the accuracy of counting, some scholars have proposed counting microbial cells before inactivation. Currently, many clinical research articles have adopted this strategy to illustrate the usage of postbiotics.

4. Product Applications

14. What applications might postbiotics have in the food sector?
 

Currently, postbiotics have been applied internationally in general food, nutritional supplements, special medical foods,infant foodand other fields.
 

In terms of general food, postbiotics have been widely used. In addition to common dairy products, postbiotics are also applied in seasonings, snacks, etc. For example, House Vermont Curry, a curry seasoning added with heat-inactivated plant lactic acid bacteria HK L-137, produced by the Japanese food company House Wellness Foods, and Slim&Fit, a sugar-free gum containing ADM's BPL1 postbiotics, produced by Chickles Gum.
 

In the field of nutritional supplements, postbiotic ingredients such as Epicor and Pylopass have been used to manufacture dietary supplements. For instance, Del Immune V is a dietary supplement approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), containing cell wall peptides, amino acids, and DNA fragments from Lactobacillus rhamnosus V (DV strain), which may help with gut and immune health.
 

In the area of special medical foods, postbiotics have been used to treat gastrointestinal diseases. For example, Colibiogen is a special medical food fermented from Escherichia coli Stamm Laves 1931, used for patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
 

In infant food, many formulas have already added inactivated microorganisms.
 

15. What applications might postbiotics have in the pharmaceutical field?
 

With the continuous in-depth research on postbiotics, they are now also being introduced into the prevention or treatment of diseases. For example, a postbiotic drug formulation sold in the Chinese market—Lactobacillus tablets—has functions such as preventing bacterial and viral invasion, enhancing intestinal immunity, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria, and improving digestion.
 

Another example is Hylak Forte, which consists of soluble metabolites from Escherichia coli DSM 4087, Enterococcus faecium DSM 4086, Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 414, and L. helveticus DS 4183, used to relieve gastrointestinal issues such as bloating, diarrhea, and constipation.

In the future, postbiotics may be approved for the prevention and treatment of more diseases.

……(See you next time)

Source: Enthusiastic Intestinal Research Institute, authorized for reproduction.