Use of postbiotics in the poultry industry : current knowledge and future prospects

Postbiotics are inactive microbe preparations or their metabolites that are considered health promoters. They are stable during industrial processing and storage, whereas probiotics are vulnerable to heat and oxygen. Postbiotics are considered promising tools for sustainable poultry production because they can improve growth performance, feed efficiency, and health, and lead to a reduction of gut pathogens. Postbiotcs include numerous significant biological characteristics such as immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory responses. Moreover, higher uronic acid concentrations and some antioxidant-producing enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidases and peroxidases, were responsible for the encouraging antioxidant effects of postbiotics. Postbiotics enhance the gut villi, produce more lactic acid, and lower the fecal pH. Collectively, postbiotics thus boost immunity, promote gut health, and improve growth performance parameters. Furthermore, postbiotics enhance the quality of eggs by lowering plasma and yolk cholesterol levels in layers. Several studies have shown that postbiotic substances greatly improve poultry well-being and growth performance. In this chapter, we will shed light on the advantages of postbiotics for the poultry sector as alternatives to antibiotics.