Prebiotics are dietary fibre that act as a food source for beneficial bacteria, also known as Probiotics.
Prebiotics occur naturally in a healthy and balanced diet; you’ll find them in fruits and vegetables, and in fermented foods. They are integral to maintaining a healthy and active population of good bacteria in the gut.
Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that confer a health benefit on the host when consumed in sufficient quantities.
There are many, many different species and strains of probiotics bacteria, but only Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria are classified as 100% safe and effective across all strains.
Our body as well as a pet’s gut have their own native gut bacteria, but when dysbiosis occurs, administering probiotics as a dietary supplement can help restore gut health and a balanced gut microbiome.
The latest advances in microbial science have yielded the discovery and commercial application of POSTBIOTICS.
Postbiotics are the beneficial and bioactive compounds, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) like acetate, butyrate and propionate, that are produced by probiotics during fermentation.
SCFA for example, are an important source of energy for intestinal cells. They help preserve the intestinal barrier and help remedy digestive disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Beneficial health effects of postbiotics are as follows1,2:
- Anti-inflammatory activity
- Anti-pathogenic activity
- Antioxidant activity
- Regulation of immune responses
- Optimising intestinal acid/base balance
- Suppressing harmful fungi and yeast, like candida
- Detoxification support
- Synthesis of B-vitamins and amino acids
Basically, when probiotics have enough prebiotics to feed on, and are alive and active in the gut for a sufficient amount of time, they produce Postbiotics. In many ways, postbiotics are the shortcut to the health benefits associated with probiotics.
Postbiotics are also able to render more consistent, safer and direct benefits to digestive health than probiotics, especially on immunocompromised individuals and animals.3
That being said, prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics are all essential tools to help maintain a healthy gut microbiome in both humans and animals.
Sirius Pet Biologics manufactures an array of Postbiotics-based dietary supplements and topical applications under the brand FURMENT.
FURMENT features both therapeutic veterinary-grade solutions, as well as supplemental remedies for retail, to improve and support pet microbiome health.
References
- Żółkiewicz, J.; Marzec, A.; Ruszczyński, M.; Feleszko, W. Postbiotics—A Step Beyond Pre- and Probiotics. Nutrients 2020, 12, 2189.
- Markowiak-Kopeć P, Śliżewska K. The Effect of Probiotics on the Production of Short-Chain Fatty Acids by Human Intestinal Microbiome. Nutrients. 2020 Apr 16;12(4):1107.
- Yeşilyurt, N., Yılmaz, B., Ağagündüz, D. and Capasso, R., 2021. Involvement of probiotics and postbiotics in the immune system modulation. Biologics, 1(2), pp.89-110.
