Potential of Postbiotics in the Biodegradation of Antinutrients in Foods

Antinutrients, frequently called as anti-nutritional factors (ANFs), comprise a class of compounds prevalent in numerous plant-derived foodstuffs that can impede the bioavailability of essential nutrients or serve as precursors to harmful substances. The impact of ANFs on human health remains a topic of contention, primarily contingent upon their concentrations. While the beneficial ramifications of these compounds are extensively documented, the associated risks they present and the methodologies to mitigate such risks have not received equivalent scholarly attention. It is unequivocal that various ANFs detrimentally influence the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and proteins, inhibiting certain enzymatic activities, thereby adversely affecting the bioavailability of nutrients within the human organism. The principal aim of this investigation is to examine the potential for modulating the levels of ANF in food products via fermentation. This review focuses on possibly controlling ANF levels in food through biological methods. The use of probiotics and their metabolites (postbiotics) is a novel approach to ANF control. Postbiotics are defined as soluble entities (either direct products or metabolic byproducts) that are secreted by living bacteria or released after bacterial lysis; these include enzymes, peptides, teichoic acids, muropeptides derived from peptidoglycan, polysaccharides, cell surface proteins, and organic acids. The interest in these postbiotics is attributable to their well-defined chemical structures, established safety dose thresholds, prolonged shelf lives, and the presence of diverse signaling molecules that may exhibit nutraceutical properties (such as cholesterol assimilation, the degradation of undesirable or anti-nutritional compounds, and the production or enhanced bioavailability of antioxidants). This review highlights the role of postbiotics in the degradation of ANFs.