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Abstract: In recent years, the field of probiotics and postbiotics has attracted great attention. On the one hand, probiotics, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a range of health benefits on the host, but concerns have been reported about the administration of live microorganisms and their associated risks. On the other hand, postbiotics with desirable traits as inactivated microbial cells or cell fractions could non-cytotoxically benefit the consumer when ingested in sufficient amounts. In this study, the authors have discussed the protentional of postbiotics as safe alternatives to live probiotic microbes in functional foods, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceutical products.

Symptoms associated with menopause could be a public health issue in the world, characterized by a permanent cessation of menstruation due to lack of ovarian follicular activity 12 months after menopause. It leads to mood swings, sleep disturbances and hot flashes. Modification of lifestyle and proper nutrition program are involved in improving mood and sleep quality. Thus, the aim of present study was to evaluate the effect of probiotics on mood and sleep quality (primary outcomes), quality of life, satisfaction with the intervention and side effects (secondary outcomes) in postmenopausal women.This triple-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted on 66 postmenopausal women aged 45-55 years in Behbahan city-Iran in 2020-2021. Women were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. Intervention group received 100 g of yogurt containing probiotics and control group received 100 g of ordinary yogurt daily after lunch for 6 weeks. Before the intervention and 6 weeks after the intervention, the participants completed the Pittsburgh sleep quality scale, DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 items), and the menopause quality of life (MENQOL) questionnaire. Independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U and ANCOVA tests were used for data analysis.There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of socio-demographic characteristics and baseline values. Six weeks after the intervention, based on ANCOVA test and by adjusting the baseline score, the mean anxiety score (adjusted mean difference (AMD): -0.56, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): -0.01 to -1.12; P = 0.044), mean stress score (AMD: -0.76, 95% CI: -0.01 to -1.52; P = 0.046) and mean quality of life score (AMD: -4.86, 95% CI: 3.06 to -6.66; P 0.001) in the group receiving probiotic yogurt were significantly lower than those in the control group. However, in terms of mean scores of depression and sleep quality, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups.The results of this study suggest the effects of consuming probiotic yogurt on improving anxiety, stress and quality of life in postmenopausal women. However, further studies are needed to obtain a definite conclusion in this regard.Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT): IRCT20120718010324N57; Date of registration: 30/06/2020. URL: https://en.irct.ir/user/trial/47177/view; Date of first registration: 21/07/2020.

To determine whether oral probiotic administration (1.5 × 10In this double-blind trial, breastfeeding mothers and their VLBW infants at 48-72 h of age were allocated into three groups using stratified block randomization; administrating probiotic to the mothers and placebo to their infants, probiotic to the infants and placebo to their mothers, or placebo to the both. The intervention continued for 28 days.All 25 mothers and their 26 infants allocated into each group were fully followed up. There were three positive blood culture only in the placebo group. On the 3rd day of intervention, TSB level was not significantly different among the groups but on the 7th day, it was significantly lower in the both probiotic groups compared with the placebo group (mean difference -2.4 mg/dL [95% confidence interval -3.6 to -1.2] in the both comparisons). Mean rank of infant weight gain during the first 7 days of intervention was significantly higher in the both maternal and infant probiotic groups compared with the placebo group (p = 0.007 and p = 0.003, respectively), but there was no statistically significant difference among the groups during the 8th-28th days.Administration of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei to breastfeeding mothers of VLBW infants or to their infants reduces infant TSB level but has no significant effect on weight gain after the first week of the intervention.The Iranian Clinical Trials Registry IRCT20100414003706N38. protrospectively registered 24/01/2021.

Background Probiotics increase the defense power of immune system and accelerate the wound healing process by anti-inflammatory mechanisms at the wound site. The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of Lactobacillus casei oral supplementation on episiotomy wound healing among primiparous women. Methods This triple-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 74 primiparous women delivered in Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. Participants with mediolateral episiotomy (incision length equal to and less than 5 cm) were randomly assigned to the probiotic and placebo groups. The probiotic group received Lactobacillus casei 431 with 1.5 * 109 colony-forming unit /capsule once a day from the day after birth to 14 days. Wound healing as a primary outcome was measured by Redness, Edema, Ecchymosis, Discharge, Approximation and pain as a secondary outcome by the Visual Analogue Scale before discharge, 5 ± 1 and 15 ± 1 days after birth. The data were analyzed using independent t-test and repeated measures one way analysis of variance. Results The mean (standard deviation: SD) score of wound healing in the probiotic group altered from 4.91(1.86) before discharge to 1.55 (0.99) during 5 ± 1 days after birth and reached to 0.95 (0.27) during 15 ± 1 days after birth. Further, the mean (SD) score of wound healing in the placebo group altered from 4.62 (1.99) before discharge to 2.80 (1.20) during 5 ± 1 days after birth and reached to 1.45(0.71) during 15 ± 1 days after birth (adjusted mean difference: -0.50, confidence interval 95%: -0.96 to -0.05, P = 0.03). Conclusion Lactobacillus casei oral supplementation is effective in healing episiotomy wounds. It is suggested to evaluate the effect of topical use of Lactobacillus casei on episiotomy repair and pain in further studies. Trial registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT): IRCT20170506033834N7. Date of registration: 11/08/2021.

Chlorella vulgaris (CV) is a green unicellular microalga with various bioactive compounds (BACs) and is highly appreciated due to its variety of biological activities. Among different sources, bioactive peptides have positive biological effects and numerous health-promoting properties. However, instability, reactivity and high bitterness are the main challenges which may restrict the application of these components in preparation of diverse food compounds. Therefore, the present investigation stresses on the capability of the gum arabic (GA), maltodextrin (MD), pectin (PE) and alginate (AL), and combinations of them as carrier agents on physicochemical, techno-functional, structural and activity of spray-dried CV peptides. Biological indices were affected by the degree of hydrolysis and free amino acid values. The alteration in physico-chemical, functional, flowability along with color characteristics may be associated with composition of the carriers. MD-AL combination showed the best performance on the mentioned indicators, physical stability and scavenging the ABTS (84%) and DPPH (77%) radicals of spray-dried (SD) peptides. The chemical structures (FTIR analysis) indicated the placement of peptides in the carrier matrix. SEM images of SD particles revealed wrinkled, irregular and hollow structures (matrix-type microsphere) in different sizes. Referring to the findings, microencapsulated CV peptides is a valuable source of BACs in functional formulations.

Abstract: A bioactive containing packaging system is not only a traditional protective structure for a food product but also offers additional health-benefiting properties. Postbiotics (nonbiotics) are metabolites produced by probiotic microorganisms that have numerous health benefits. The safety and non-toxicity of postbiotics and their capability to prevent the growth of food spoilage microbes are the significant features of postbiotics (cell-free supernatants) in using these components in food manufacturing. In this comprehensive review, authors discuss the characteristics of postbiotics, different types and sources of postbiotics, their application in active packaging and the possibilities of their application in increasing the shelf-life of products with active packaging.

Microbial-derived postbiotics are of interest recently due to their lower side effects than chemotherapy for cancer treatment and prevention. This study aimed to investigate the potential antigenotoxic and cytotoxic effects of cell-free-supernatant (CFS) postbiotics derived from Saccharomyces boulardii by applying SOS chromotest and MTT assay on HT-29 cell lines. Also, further cellular pathway-related assays such as cell cycle, DAPI, and annexin V-FITC/PI staining were performed. Real-time PCR was utilized to assess the expression levels of some genes involved in apoptosis. Based on the outcomes, the CFSs of S. boulardii showed significant antigenotoxic effects (20-60%, P 0.05), decreased cell viability (with the significant IC

In this paper, structure, chemical composition and physicochemical properties of the novel polysaccharide Amuniacum gum (AMG) were assessed. The AMG had 12.21% moisture, 3.76% ash, 0.31% protein, 73.06% carbohydrate, 1.24% fat and 10% uronic acids. The elemental analysis indicated the absence of sulfur. The HPLC demonstrated the presence of galactose and arabinose as dominant sugars. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the native gum indicated a semicrystalline structure. Furthermore, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showed that the average molecular weight included 35 kDa. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and methyl groups. Moreover, 1H and 13C NMR analysis demonstrated that AMG included a backbone of β-D-Galp residues and was mainly branched through 4-O-methyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl units. Results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that the thermal decomposition of AMG occurred at nearly 278 °C. In conclusion, these results highlight that the novel gum can be used in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Background and Aim: Food is the fundamental need of human life and has nutrients that support growth and be healthy. Gastrointestinal tract (GI) microbiota involves beneficial microorganisms that develop therapeutic effects and are characterize as probiotics. The studies on appropriate probiotic strains have led to the separation and description of specific metabolic byproducts of probiotics named postbiotics. Materials and Methods: A literature review has been performing using PubMed, Medline, and Scopus databases using combinations of search terms “probiotic, postbiotic, immune system, bioactivity, cancer, health-promoting, food, and pharmaceutical industry”. All experimental studies were enrolling for this explanatory review. Articles that did not have a full text were excluded. Results: The probiotics must maintain their survival against inappropriate growth conditions of the processing, storage, distribution, preparation, and digestion system so that they can play their most health effects. Conversely, probiotic metabolites have successfully overcome these unfavorable conditions and maybe a good alternative to probiotics. Due to their specific chemical structure, safe profile, long shelf-life, and the fact that they contain various signaling molecules, postbiotics may have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antihypertensive, inhibiting abnormal cell proliferation, and antioxidant activities. Conclusions: Postbiotics is mimic the fundamental and clinical role of probiotics, and due to their unique characteristics, can be applied in a delivery system (pharmaceutical/functional foods) to achieve health-promoting, prevention, and treatment purposes.

Vaginitis is a common problem in women. Candida albicans is responsible for more than 85% of vaginal fungal infections. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of probiotic and fluconazole on the treatment and recurrence of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). This triple-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted on 80 married women, aged 18-49 years, with VVC, as confirmed by clinical and laboratory diagnosis. The participants were allocated into two groups using blocked randomization method. The fluconazole-treated group received a single dose of fluconazole (150 mg) supplemented with 30 placebo capsules of probiotic, and the probiotic-treated group got 30 probiotic capsules containing 1 × 10

The addition of gum tragacanth (GT) as an emulsifier in oil in water systems can reduce the interfacial tension and stabilize emulsions. The major goal of this study was to investigate the particle size distribution, stability and rheological properties of 10% w/w oil in water emulsion at different pH conditions (2.5, 4, and 5.4) as affected by the addition of 0.5% w/w of previously irradiated (0, 1.5, and 3 kGy) GT. Irradiation treatment affected the stability of emulsions by changing rheological properties and parameters describing particle size. The extent of these differences was dose-dependent. Results indicated that using 1.5 kGy irradiated GT was more effective in providing optimum values of particle size and maximum emulsion stability. The least consistency coefficient (0.38 Pa s) and the most unstable emulsion were achieved in samples with pH 2.5 and the irradiated dose of 3 kGy. There was an increasing trend in the flow behavior index with the increasing irradiation dosage. Emulsions were less stable at pH 2.5 than at higher pH levels (4.5 and 5.5).

Recent investigations have meaningfully developed our knowledge of the features of the reproductive microbiome/metabolome profile and their relations with host responses to offer an optimal milieu for the development of the embryo during the peri-implantation period and throughout pregnancy. In this context, the establishment of homeostatic circumstances in the Female Reproductive Tract (FRT), in various physiological periods, is a significant challenge, which appears the application of postbiotics can facilitate the achievement of this goal. So, currently, scientific literature confirms that postbiotics due to their antimicrobial, antiviral, and immunomodulatory properties can be considered as a novel biotherapeutic approach. Future investigation in this field will shed more translational mechanistic understanding of the interaction of the postbiotics derived from vaginal Lactobacilli with females' health and reproduction.

Herbal extracts have been widely used by consumers for food fortification and medical purposes worldwide and are focused in traditional medicine in recent years. At this study, we aimed to examine the antimicrobial, antioxidant and sensory characteristics of ice creams fortified with different combinations of Hibiscus sabdariffa and Camellia synensis determined by Design of Experiments software. Levels of 10–100 and 40–400 mg/kg for Hibiscus sabdariffa and Camellia synensis extracts, respectively, were selected and experiments were conducted by central composite design. Generally, 13 runs were introduced by the software and followed in laboratory for analysis. Antimicrobial activity was studied against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as indicators of gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Results showed that all combinations were active against both bacteria but Staphylococcus aureus was more sensitive than Escherichia coli. Importantly, Camellia synensis was more effective than Hibiscus sabdariffa in both antimicrobial and antioxidant experiments but sensory panelists selected the sample containing lowest concentrations of both extracts. However, frequent consumption of low-dose fortified dairies with Hibiscus sabdariffa and Camellia synensis could be helpful for consumers interested in functional foods.

According to outcomes from clinical studies, an intricate relationship occurs between the beneficial microbiota, gut homeostasis, and the host's health status. Numerous studies have confirmed the health-promoting effects of probiotics, particularly in gastrointestinal diseases. On the other hand, the safety issues regarding the consumption of some probiotics are still a matter of debate, thus to overcome the problems related to the application of live probiotic cells in terms of clinical, technological, and economic aspects, microbial-derived biomolecules (postbiotics) were introducing as a potential alternative agent. Presently scientific literature confirms that the postbiotic components can be used as promising tools for both prevention and treatment strategies in gastrointestinal disorders with less undesirable side-effects, particularly in infants and children. Future head-to-head trials are required to distinguish appropriate strains of parent cells, optimal dosages of postbiotics, and assessment of the cost-effectiveness of postbiotics compared to alternative drugs. This review provides an overview of the concept and safety issues regarding postbiotics, with emphasis on their biological role in the treatment of some important gastrointestinal disorders.

the antimicrobial effect postbiotics extant of Lactobacillus casei was evaluated against Escherichia coli by well propagation method and growth inhibition zone diameter was measured. The selected concentration of the postbiotic extract of Lactobacillus casei was added to milk containing E. coli, followed by evaluating the changes in colony number and pH during storage (1 and 5) days. at a temperature of 4°C and compared with control milk. The largest growth inhibition zone was formed at a concentration of 800 µl/ml against E. coli. Also, the counts of E. coli decreased on days 1 and 5 in the evaluated milk containing postbiotic (P≤ 0.05). The pH of milk containing postbiotic was 6.5-6.8 (P≤ 0.05). The results showed that the postbiotics of L. casei inhibited the growth of E. coli in milk containing.

Background: Recently, public interests have increased to study novel and vernacular polysaccharides due to their various uses, especially in food formulations as well as pharmaceuticals and herbal medicines. Plant-based gums are commercially produced from a large number of plants that include complex polysaccharides. Scope and Approach: he present study has summarized physicochemical, rheological and functional properties of tragacanth, basil seed and balangu gums from indigenous plants of Iran. Conclusion: The results of this review study demonstrate that the highlighted gums are commonly used as dietary fibers, thickening agents, emulsifiers, stabilizers and drug delivery agents. The general appearance of gums varies from dark-brown to whitish in color. At various concentrations, pH and ionic strengths, aqueous dispersions show great variations in their rheological behavior. In conclusion, industrial applications of these gums are possible as a result of their strong thickening properties. Additionally, significant surface activity and emulsification capacity enable their application in the food, pharmaceutical and/or cosmetic industries.

Background: Yeasts play diverse roles in human life. Since ancient times, these micro organisms have been used to produce food products and beverages including bread and beer. Nowadays, the biotechnological products of yeast are some of the main components of commercial products. Objective: Some species of yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces boulardii are recognized as probiotic yeast with extensive applications in the food and drug industries. However, certain species like Kluyveromyces marxianus are still not recognized as probiotic micro organisms despite their widespread industrial usage. In this study, the application of K. marxianus in preparing food and the medicinal product was reviewed in terms of its beneficial or harmful effects. Methods: Pub Med, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct databases were searched by using “Probiotics”, “Yeast”, and “Kluyveromyces marxianus”. Results: The findings suggest that K. marxianus can be recognized as a probiotic yeast species. Conclusion: It can be concluded that K. marxianus may be considered as a probiotic micro organism with a variety of commercial and medical applications.

Background and Objectives: Tea is considered one of the most consumed drinks around the world and the health benefits of it have recently attracted the attention of different researchers. It has also been proven beneficial in preventing the danger of some diseases like cancer and cardiovascular problems. Further, lipid oxidation is one of the major problems in food products. Considering the above-mentioned issues, the present review focused on various techniques used to extract polyphenols from different kinds of tea, as well as their use in the food industry. Results and Conclusion: Based on our findings in this review, the main components of tea are polyphenols that have health benefits and include catechins, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate, gallic acid, flavonoids, flavonols, and theophlavins. From these components, catechin is regarded as the most beneficial component. Many techniques have been discovered and reformed to extract tea compounds such as solvent-based extraction, microwave-assisted water extraction, and ultrasound-assisted extraction techniques. Overall, the microwave-assisted water extraction method is a useful method for extracting tea polyphenols, which may be used in the meat, oil, and dairy industries.

Constipation is a common public health concern experienced by all individuals during their life affecting the quality of life. In this paper, we aimed to provide an overview of the existing evidence regarding the role of food ingredients, including bran, prune, fig, kiwifruit, and flax-seed in constipation treatment. We searched Scopus, Pub Med, and Science Direct by using the keywords, “laxative foods” and “constipation”, for searching studies assessing laxative food ingredients and their beneficial effects on constipation treatment and/or control. Lifestyle modifications such as increasing dietary fiber and fluid intake and daily exercise are the proposed first line treatments for constipation. Optimizing ‘diet’ as an efficient lifestyle factor may contribute to the well-being of patients. The use of laxative food ingredients including bran, prune, fig, kiwifruit, flax-seed, probiotics, and prebiotics is a convenient alternative to cope with constipation. According to previous findings, laxative food ingredients could be considered as effective treatments for subjects suffering from constipation. Many studies have assessed the pharmacological and non-pharmacological roles of these ingredients in treating constipation, however, their importance has not been thoroughly investigated.

In this study, the emulsifying and foaming properties of a novel exudate gum from Dorema ammoniacum (AMG) were assessed in comparison with the well‐known gum Arabic from Acacia tree (GAC). The sunflower oil‐based emulsion (10% v/v) containing various concentrations (5%–15% w/v) of AMG and GAC was prepared. At all concentrations, AMG showed higher surface and interface activity than GAC. Increasing in AMG and GAC concentrations caused to increase and decrease in Z average, respectively. Overall, the GAC‐stabilized emulsion showed lower Z average and PDI value than the AMG‐stabilized emulsion during storage time. The sample containing AMG showed higher emulsion capacity and lower emulsion stability in comparison with the one containing GAC at all concentrations. The storage stability decreased and increased with increasing in AMG and GAC concentrations, respectively. After two‐week storage, the emulsions containing 10 and 15% AMG showed higher phase separation than those containing GAC; however, this was opposite about sample containing 5% AMG. At thermal, centrifuge, and freezing conditions, the emulsion containing 5% AMG indicated significantly higher stability than GAC samples; however, at higher concentration, opposite effect could be observed. The foaming capacity of the samples containing AMG increased from 81% to 93% by increasing gum concentration from 5% to 15%. The solutions containing AMG showed higher foam capacity than control samples (without gum) and those containing GAC at all concentrations. Increasing in AMG and GAC concentrations slightly improved foam stability, and the highest value (92%) belonged to 15% AMG solution., In the present study, the emulsifying and foaming properties of a novel exudate gum from Dorema ammoniacum (AMG) were assessed in comparison with the well‐known gum Arabic from Acacia tree (GAC). The sunflower oil‐based emulsion (10% v/v) containing various concentrations (5%–15% w/v) of AMG and GAC was prepared. At all concentrations, AMG showed higher surface and interface activity than GAC.

Introduction: In the recent years, attention to the use of probiotic drugs and probiotic food products, due to probiotic’s functional and health properties has been increased. The storage and the viability of the probiotics in the products and passing through the gastrointestinal tract was always a big challenge. Drying is one of the functional and important choices that can be used for stabilizing microbial species and makes the bacterial usage easy. Among different microencapsulation methods, spray drying is one of the important drying methods that can be used in industrial scale and size. Optimizing the effective parameters on the cultivation and separation of probiotic bacteria, the most important and challenging parameters of spray drying that have influence on probiotic products, and choose of the best wall materials for the cores, are the most important and challenging factors that are necessary for optimizing the microencapsulation in industrial scale. In this review article, in this review article, the factors affecting the survival and resistance of bacteria in the stage before entering the spray dryer and the factors affecting the survival of probiotic bacteria during the drying stage are discussed. In addition, the important criteria for selecting microfiber wall materials and the tests that are often performed on probiotic microfiber resulting from spray drying have been examined.

The occurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been rising expeditiously and anticipated that 2.4 million new occasions of CRC will be detected yearly around the world until the year 2035. Due to some side-effects and complications of conventional CRC therapies, bioactive components such as microbial-derived biomolecules (postbiotics) have been attaining great significance by researchers for adjuvant therapy in CRC patients. The term 'postbiotics' encompasses an extensive range of complex micro- and macro-molecules (50, 50-100, and 100kDa) such as inactivated microbial cells, cell fractions or metabolites, which confer various physiological health benefits to the host when administered in adequate amounts. Postbiotics modulate the composition of the gut microbiota and the functionality of the immune system, as well as promote the CRC treatment effectiveness and reduces its side-effects in CRC patients due to possessing anti-oxidant, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activities. Presently scientific literature confirms that postbiotics with their unique characteristics in terms of clinical (safe origin), technological (stability), and economic (low production costs) aspects can be used as promising tools for both prevent and adjuvant treat strategies in CRC patients without any serious undesirable side-effects. This review provides an overview of the concept and safety issues regarding postbiotics, with emphasis on their biological role in the prevention and treatment of CRC.

During the last two decades, the prevalence and severity of clinical appearances of food allergy (FA) have a significant rise. FA derives from a breakdown of immune tolerance. In recent year's clinical evidence have shown that the probiotics have significant influences on FA by improving the immune tolerance. Besides, postbiotics due to their unique characteristics (safe profile, more shelf life, resistance to mammalian enzymes and stable to digestive system conditions), may have safety superiority against their parent live cells and as a novel strategy can be applied for improvement immune tolerance and treatment of FA without any undesirable side-effects or human opportunistic infections, particularly in infants and pediatrics.

Precise monitoring of antibiotic residues in aqueous solution is of vital significance for safeguarding the environment and food resources. Herein, a convenient platform was fabricated for the electrochemical assay of ciprofloxacin (CFX) in real milk samples using aminated aptamer and graphene oxide nanogold-functionalized branched polyethyleneimine (GO-PEI-AuNPs) nanocomposite. For the first time, a gold electrode was modified with GO-PEI-AuNPs. The modified surface endowed excellent electrochemical substrates with large surface areas, excellent electron transfer rates, and suitable capabilities to firmly attach high amounts of aptamer. After further modification of substrate with CFX specific aptamer a recognition probe enabling selective and sensitive determination of CFX was realized. All of the aptasensor fabrication steps were surveyed

Food is the essential need of human life and has nutrients that support growth and health. Gastrointestinal tract microbiota involves valuable microorganisms that develop therapeutic effects and are characterized as probiotics. The investigations on appropriate probiotic strains have led to the characterization of specific metabolic byproducts of probiotics named postbiotics. The probiotics must maintain their survival against inappropriate lethal conditions of the processing, storage, distribution, preparation, and digestion system so that they can exhibit their most health effects. Conversely, probiotic metabolites (postbiotics) have successfully overcome these unfavorable conditions and may be an appropriate alternative to probiotics. Due to their specific chemical structure, safe profile, long shelf-life, and the fact that they contain various signaling molecules, postbiotics may have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antihypertensive properties, inhibiting abnormal cell proliferation and antioxidative activities. Consequently, present scientific literature approves that postbiotics can mimic the fundamental and clinical role of probiotics, and due to their unique characteristics, they can be applied in an oral delivery system (pharmaceutical/functional foods), as a preharvest food safety hurdle, to promote the shelf-life of food products and develop novel functional foods or/and for developing health benefits, and therapeutic aims. This review addresses the latest postbiotic applications with regard to pharmaceutical formulations and commercial food-based products. Potential postbiotic applications in the promotion of host health status, prevention of disease, and complementary treatment are also reviewed.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of prebiotics on metabolic indices and menopausal symptoms. This triple-blind randomised controlled trial was conducted on 60 menopausal women. The participants were assigned to two groups based on block randomisation. Over 6 weeks, the experimental group received 100 g of prebiotic-rich yogurt daily after lunch and the control group received regular yogurt. Menopausal symptoms and metabolic indices were assessed before and after the treatment. The mean total score of menopausal symptoms (

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic defines the global health tension of our time. There are several continuous efforts to find a definitive cure in this regard. According to some adverse effects and problems of customary SARS-CoV-2 disease therapies, bioactive compounds, for example probiotics-derived metabolites (postbiotics) have been accomplishing supreme importance by investigators for adjuvant cures in patients with SARS-CoV-2. Postbiotics inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 activity and stimulate the immune system. They also boost the SARS-CoV-2 disease treatment effectiveness and reduce its adverse effects in SARS-CoV-2 illness patients as a result of antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, postbiotics having unique features such as high safety, high shelf life and stability to the gastrointestinal tract can be utilized as hopeful instruments for both adjuvant and inhibition strategies in SARS-CoV-2 patients with no earnest unfavourable adverse effects. The concept of postbiotics and their biocompatible characteristics are comprehensively discussed in the present review while highlighting the bilateral relationship between postbiotic biometabolites and respiratory tract infection with a special look at the potential biological role in the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and reduction of related inflammatory pathways.

Rhus coriaria Linn. (Anacardiacea), commonly known as sumac, grows in non-agriculturally regions and its various species may be used for medicinal purposes. This plant is grows mainly in Iran, Afghanistan and the Mediterranean bordering countries. In folk medicine, it was used for treatment of stroke chronic symptoms, diarrhea-dysentery, hemorrhoids, leucorrhea, sore throat, ophthalmic, wound healing, pain and liver disease. Also sumac has protective effect on some risk factors of atherosclerosis and oxidative stress. Results have shown that sumac may be a source of hydrolysable tannin and natural antimicrobial agents making it a usable natural preservative, antioxidant and antimicrobial component in food industry. These biological properties may be attributed to the presence of individual phytochemicals, mainly phenolic compounds. This review presents a changing outlook for consumers and producers regarding the applications of sumac in food formulations.

Background: Frying oils are important nutrition due to their significant changes during the frying process. These changes can cause serious health problems in consumers. Methods: The aims of this 3-stage study were to investigate chemical changes of Total Polar Compounds (TPC), Peroxide Value (PV), Free Fatty Acid (FFA), Anisidine Value (AV) and TOTOX Value (TV) during heating of four improved frying oil formulations including super palm olein, sunflower, rapeseed and corn oil and to assess their frying quality, blends and subsequent changes using various antioxidant compounds, including ter-butyl Hydroquinone (TBHQ) and its mixture with Ascorbyl Palmitate (ASCP). Results: Results showed that the best formulation at the end of frying time was FO5 including 1:1 super palm olein and corn oil containing 120 ppm of TBHQ, 120 ppm of ASCP and 0.01% of Citric Acid (CA). This formulation showed the minimum TPC, PV, TV and FFA, compared to those other formulations. Conclusion: Furthermore, AP was demonstrated to include synergistic effects on TBHQ in preventing thermal deterioration of the frying oils.

Recent investigations have meaningfully developed our knowledge of the features of the reproductive microbiome/metabolome profile and their relations with host responses to offer an optimal milieu for the development of the embryo during the peri-implantation period and throughout pregnancy. In this context, the establishment of homeostatic circumstances in the Female Reproductive Tract (FRT), in various physiological periods, is a significant challenge, which appears the application of postbiotics can facilitate the achievement of this goal. So, currently, scientific literature confirms that postbiotics due to their antimicrobial, antiviral, and immunomodulatory properties can be considered as a novel biotherapeutic approach. Future investigation in this field will shed more translational mechanistic understanding of the interaction of the postbiotics derived from vaginal