Paraprobiotics and postbiotics: Contemporary and promising natural antibiotics alternatives and their applications in the poultry field

With the high rise of drug resistance in microbial populations, there has been a surge in researches to find new natural antibiotics alternative compounds that can be used safely in both humans and animals. The main goals of using this category of alternatives are maintaining the gut microbiome in healthy conditions and preventing the attachment of pathogenic organisms at the early life stages. Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics have been widely used for several years as growth promoters and as preventive measures against several enteric pathogens with successful results. Recently, paraprobiotics and postbiotics are derivatives of probiotic cultures and have been used in humans, animals, and poultry. They are regarded as immunostimulators, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, and anti-microbial, as well as growth promoters. Till now, there is scanty information about the use of paraprobiotics and postbiotics in animals or in the poultry sector. Accordingly, this review article has focused on defining these new categories of natural alternatives with descriptions of their types, functions, and uses, especially in the poultry field.