Postbiotics are Mostly Called Something Else!

Postbiotic metabolites are known by many different names in research papers so it’s helpful to know some of the more common ones. Postbiotics is a very broad term.  

Researchers tend to use other names which clarify their function or something else about them.  Below is a list of common names divided into four subcategories (the postbiotic usually includes the name of probiotic bacteria it originated from,  but in this context I use an “X”  which you can imagine to be whichever probiotic you choose).   Most postbiotics are externally secreted liquids of a specific probiotic. Some postbiotics are internal to the probiotic. Once they die, their postbiotic internal liquids and their cell wall components are released. Some postbiotic names are based on the function they perform.  

The 4th category identifies the postbiotic according to the acid group it belongs to, or identifies it as a nutrient or somehow related to a nutrient.  

1) External to the Probiotic: secreted factor  of X,  soluble substance of X, exogenous compound of X, cell free supernatant (CFS) of X

2) Internal to the Probiotic: endogenous substance of X,  a ghost probiotic of X, heat killed X, Intracellular Contents of X,  a metabiotic,  a parabiotic.

3) By FunctionBacteriocins (postbiotics that kill bad bacteria but leave good bacteria alone), an immunobiotic (a postbiotic that modulates its host’s immune system), neurotransmitters, hormones, enzymes.

4) By Nutrient or pHShort chain fatty acids, organic acids, lactic acids, soluble proteins, lipoxins,  enterolignans (the absorbable postbiotic form of lignans),  Vitamin B12, Vitamin K,  Urolithin (a postbiotic made from the phytonutrient “ellegic acid” found in plant fibres (they have strong anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant effects).