| ABSTRACT: Postbiotics refer to microecological preparations made from inactivated microbial cells (dead bacterial bodies), cell lysates, and fermentation metabolites, which are beneficial to the health of the host. They have attracted much attention in the fields of food and medicine due to their various biological functions such as improving intestinal health, antibacterial, anticancer, and immune enhancement. The preparation of postbiotics mainly includes several steps such as fermentation, inactivation, and bacterial cell disruption. The choice of fermentation strains and different inactivation methods can affect the activity of postbiotics. The active substances in postbiotics mainly include teichoic acid, proteins, peptides, short-chain fatty acids, exopolysaccharides, organic acids, etc. This paper summarized the definition, preparation methods, main components, and active functions of postbiotics in combination with the research progress at home and abroad. It focused on elucidating the latest research results of postbiotics in maintaining intestinal health, enhancing immune function, and maintaining oral health, and reviewed the application progress of postbiotics in the fields of drugs, food, and food preservation. At the same time, it analyzed the challenges of postbiotics in the application of the health industry from aspects such as production, product standardization, and regulatory and evaluation systems. This review aims to provide references for the development of postbiotics - related functional products and for innovation in research and application in the field of human health. |
