Probiotics and Postbiotics as an Alternative to Antibiotics: An Emphasis on Pigs

Abstract

Probiotics are being used as feed/food supplements as an alternative to antibiotics. It has been demonstrated that probiotics provide several health benefits, including preventing diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and immunomodulation. Alongside probiotic bacteria-fermented foods, the different structural components, such as lipoteichoic acids, teichoic acids, peptidoglycans, and surface-layer proteins, offer several advantages. Probiotics can produce different antimicrobial components, enzymes, peptides, vitamins, and exopolysaccharides. Besides live probiotics, there has been growing interest in consuming inactivated probiotics in farm animals, including pigs. Several reports have shown that live and killed probiotics can boost immunity, modulate intestinal microbiota, improve feed efficiency and growth performance, and decrease the incidence of diarrhea, positioning them as an interesting strategy as a potential feed supplement for pigs. Therefore, effective selection and approach to the use of probiotics might provide essential features of using probiotics as an important functional feed for pigs. This review aimed to systematically investigate the potential effects of lactic acid bacteria in their live and inactivated forms on pigs.

Modulation of cecal microbiota and fecal metabolism in mice by walnut protein

“…Numerous studies have shown that plant proteins have a regulatory effect on intestinal flora. 42 Beneficial bacteria promote good health by strengthening the immune system, 43 improving digestion and absorption, 44 producing vitamins, inhibiting the growth of potential pathogens 45 and preventing the feeling of gas and bloating. 46 However, harmful bacteria make carcinogens, decay proteins in the gut, produce toxins, and disrupt our intestinal functioning, leading to bacterial infections and diseases.…”

Antibiotic influx and efflux in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Regulation and therapeutic implications

“…Since platinum nanoparticles are widely utilized in medical applications (Mikhailova, 2022 ), the combination of platinum nanoparticles and traditional antibiotics provides a promising approach to combat antibiotic‐resistant P. aeruginosa . Probiotics are used as dietary supplements which provide multiple health benefits (Ali et al., 2023 ). It was recently shown that probiotic cell‐free supernatants significantly increase the expression of oprD and decrease the expression of several efflux operons such as mexAB‐oprM , mexCD‐oprJ , and mexEF‐oprN (Mehboudi et al., 2023 ), highlighting a therapeutical potential with the combination of probiotics and antibiotics.…”

Metabolite profiling and bioactivity guided fractionation of Lactobacillaceae and rice bran postbiotics for antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium growth suppression

“…Postbiotics have been explored for their roles in immune modulation, as antioxidants, chemopreventive agents, and antimicrobial adjuncts and alternatives ( Kumbhare et al, 2023 ). Specifically, postbiotics, prepared with lactic acid bacteria, a diverse group of probiotic strains native to human and animal microbiotas, have been increasingly explored for their roles in antimicrobial activity, including as anti-biofilm agents for interference with quorum sensing, for enhancing the growth of other beneficial microbial symbionts, as applications to food products or used, and in animal production systems to attenuate antimicrobial use ( Ali et al, 2023 ; Chuah et al, 2023 ; Kudra et al, 2023 ; Kumbhare et al, 2023 ; Penchuk et al, 2023 ; Sepordeh et al, 2023 ; Sharafi et al, 2023 ; Tong et al, 2023 ). Across postbiotic studies, there remains a knowledge gap in understanding postbiotic mechanisms of action, including incomplete characterization of the bioactive small molecules driving these diverse functions ( Kumbhare et al, 2023 ).…”

“…Across postbiotic studies, there remains a knowledge gap in understanding postbiotic mechanisms of action, including incomplete characterization of the bioactive small molecules driving these diverse functions ( Kumbhare et al, 2023 ). This includes how both probiotic strain and prebiotic selection impact the function of postbiotics ( Ali et al, 2023 ; Kumbhare et al, 2023 ).…”