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A postbiotic is ‘a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host’. That’s how the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) defined the term last year. It was about time, too. As scientists gained a better understanding of the inner workings of the gut microbiome, there had been a grey area when it came to defining what it is that postbiotics do.
ISAPP added that effective postbiotics have to contain inactivated microbial cells or cell components that contribute to observed health benefits. Which is a bit of a mouthful.