Submitted:
24 September 2025
Posted:
25 September 2025
You are already at the latest version
Abstract
Keywords:
Introduction
Microbiome
Foundation of the Gut-Organ Axes
Modern Microbiome Disruption & Associated Human Health
Landscape of Biotic Innovation
- Probiotics are defined as “Live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.” [48]. Supplements that use probiotic ingredients for a health benefit must be formulated at a clinically relevant dose, with well-documented strains, delivered to ensure the appropriate viability of the strains at the end of shelf life. The majority of probiotics are intended for the intestinal tract, supporting gut and digestive health, with a few documented to have systemic effects working along the gut-organ axes. Of note, fermented foods are not probiotics and they have a separate definition [49].
- Prebiotics are defined as “A substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit.” [50]. While prebiotics are commonly believed to be only fiber, this is not the case as prebiotic substances can be non-fiber, such as polyphenols, and certain types of oligosaccharides that are selectively metabolized. As with probiotics, prebiotics should be formulated at clinically studied doses for its intended effects. Unfortunately, the terms prebiotic and probiotic are widely misused, leading to incorrect perceptions that foods like onions, cereals, or garlic are prebiotic (without defining the compound, its amount and the dosage needed to confer a health benefit), and that for example any Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium strain is a probiotic (without performing appropriate clinical studies to prove the strain’s efficacy and competitiveness).
- Synbiotics are defined as “A mixture comprising of live microorganisms and substrate(s) selectively utilized by host microorganisms that confers a health benefit on the host.” [51]. Synbiotics may be complementary, where the prebiotic ingredients are not targeting the co-administered probiotic strains, or synergistic, where the prebiotics are selectively utilized by the co-administered probiotic. The benefit of synbiotics, especially synergistic synbiotics, is that it promotes the survival of the bacterial strain that feeds on the prebiotic substrate in the host, and the health benefits of both ingredients may be amplified.
- Lastly, postbiotics are defined as “A preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host.” [52]. Recently, the International Probiotic Association (IPA) led a global effort to standardize the commercial definition of postbiotics, and further classified postbiotics into four distinct subcategories: (1) complex non-viable microbial preparations (CX; inactive microbial cells/fractions in unpurified culture medium), (2) intact non-viable microbial cells (IC; inactive whole microbial cells, separated from culture medium), (3) fragmented microbial cells (FC; fragmented microbial cells, separated from culture medium), and (4) microbial metabolic products (MM; metabolic products of microbial cells within their unpurified or partially purified culture medium) [53]. The global acceptance of the definition and these four subcategories remains to be achieved. While purified microbial metabolites have been purposely excluded by both ISAPP and IPA in their published definitions of postbiotics, many believe that they are also important considerations in this category. Nevertheless, postbiotics provide manufacturing benefits over probiotics since they do not contain viable microbial cells. However, they must still be clinically validated and show health benefits on the intended host. Interestingly, postbiotics do not have to be derived from a clinically validated probiotic strain, so long as the postbiotic preparation has a proven health benefit.
Co-Biotics
A New Category of Biotics
Co-Biotic Examples
Delivery Mechanisms
Ensuring Microbiome Delivery
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Biotic Category | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Probiotic | Live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host [45]. |
|
| Prebiotic | A substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit [47]. |
|
| Synbiotic | A mixture comprising of live microorganisms and substrate(s) selectively utilized by host microorganisms that confers a health benefit on the host [48]. |
|
| Postbiotic | A preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host [49]. |
|
| Co-biotic | A substrate comprising of bioactive molecular compounds that, when delivered to permit both host absorption and microbial accessibility, simultaneously modulate biological processes in both the host and its resident microbiota, to confer a targeted health benefit |
|
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