There is a growing awareness by consumers that consuming the various “biotics” cultivates a healthy microbiome, and that gut health impacts overall health. Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacteria were discovered in the late 1800s. The term probiotics was first coined in 1965, and prebiotics were defined in 1995.
In 2019, the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) developed a consensus statement on the definition and scope of “postbiotics,” which is “a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confer a health benefit on the host.”