Postbiotics and Parabiotics in Veterinary Medicine: A Market Overview.

Abstract

Postbiotics and parabiotics (PP) are innovative concepts in veterinary medicine that have garnered substantial interest owing to their unique properties and potential benefits. PP offers a promising alternative to live bacteria, demonstrating properties such as prebiotic, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer effects, while potentially mitigating some of the common challenges associated with live bacterial applications. PP products are manufactured and commercially employed in livestock, poultry, and pets. Moreover, postbiotic-based commercial products have exhibited a diverse range of beneficial effects including enhanced gut health and microbiota, strengthened immune modulation, stress mitigation, and improved animal production. Moreover, their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties make them viable dietary supplements or additives, potentially replacing antibiotics and addressing the growing concern of antibiotic resistance in the livestock industry. This work reviews the commercial applications of PP in animal nutrition and therapeutics, including in poultry, cattle, sheep, horses, and pet animals. The growing demand for PP products shows that we need to keep researching to find new uses for PP.