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Review
. 2021 Feb 27;13(3):781.
doi: 10.3390/nu13030781.

Postbiotic Supplementation for Children and Newborn's Health

Daniela Morniroli  1 , Giulia Vizzari  1 , Alessandra Consales  1 , Fabio Mosca  1   2 , Maria Lorella Giannì  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Postbiotic Supplementation for Children and Newborn's Health

Daniela Morniroli et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

It is now well known how the microbiota can positively or negatively influence humans health, depending on its composition. The microbiota's countless beneficial effects have allowed it to be defined as a genuine symbiont for our species. In an attempt to positively influence the microbiota, research has focused on probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics are viable beneficial bacteria of various strains. Prebiotics are specific substances able to favor the development of advantageous bacteria strains. Postbiotics are a new category of compounds capable of affecting the microbiota. According to the different definitions, postbiotics include both nonviable bacteria and substances deriving from bacterial metabolism. Postbiotics are particularly promising in pediatric settings, as they offer some advantages over probiotics, including the absence of the risk of intestinal translocation or worsening of local inflammation. For these reasons, their use in fragile population categories such as newborns, and even more prematures, seems to be the best solution for improving microbiota's health in this population. This narrative review aims to collect the research conducted so far on postbiotics' potential in the first stages of life.

Keywords: gut axis; microbiota; nonviable bacteria; paraprobiotics; postbiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Main hypothesized pathways of postbiotic’s beneficial effects. 1, thickening of the mucus layer; 2-3, antimicrobial effect; 4, local anti-inflammatory effect; 5, systemic effects of postbiotics entering circulation. SCFAs: short-chain fatty acids; BA: biliary acids.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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