Postbiotics are the next big thing in the world of nutritional supplements. Vitals introduces a new product with the most well-known postbiotic in the world. Postbiol-EC from Vitals contains EpiCor®, with a unique composition of nutrients that are created from the conversion (fermentation) of nutrients in a natural culture medium by baker's yeast. EpiCor® was developed by a company with more than 75 years of experience in the field of natural fermentation processes. It is a so-called postbiotic, which is defined as a preparation of non-living micro-organisms. In addition to metabolic products (metabolites), EpiCor® contains inactive (non-living) baker's yeast cells, which has added value. It can therefore also be seen as a so-called 'whole food' fermentate, in which all components of the fermentation process are still present in the end product. A postbiotic is excellent to use as a supplement to a prebiotic and/or a probiotic, but can also be used on its own in situations where a pre- or probiotic is less suitable.

Prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics
Pre- and probiotics have been used successfully for many years. The knowledge in this area is therefore much more extensive than about postbiotics, which is a relatively new subject and has only recently come into the spotlight. For a long time there was no consensus on the term 'postbiotics', which could cause confusion in the scientific literature. In 2019 this changed when a large panel of experts from various relevant fields (the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, ISAPP) reached agreement on a correct definition. The term 'postbiotic' means 'after life' and refers to the essence of a postbiotic, namely that it consists of (parts of) non-living micro-organisms, with or without the substances they produce (metabolites). So not simply (and exclusively) the metabolites produced by living micro-organisms.

It is clearly distinguished from prebiotics (water-soluble and fermentable fibers by the intestinal flora) and probiotics (preparations with living micro-organisms). The advantages of postbiotics compared to pre- and probiotics include that the required dosage of postbiotics is usually a lot lower and that preparations with non-living micro-organisms have a longer shelf life than preparations with living micro-organisms. This does not mean that these different types of preparations cannot be used very well next to each other, because they complement each other nicely.

EpiCor®
As with probiotics, research with postbiotics is only meaningful if it is conducted with that specific preparation (i.e. with a specific micro-organism or combination of micro-organisms, characterised at strain level, in combination with certain metabolites). One of the postbiotics that has currently been the subject of the most (human) research is yeast fermentate EpiCor® from manufacturer Cargill. Vitals traditionally attaches great importance to scientific substantiation, which is why this excellent raw material was chosen for Postbiol-EC.

EpiCor® is produced through a patented fermentation process using baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). This microorganism is used because of the thousands of years of experience that man has in making foods fermented with baker's yeast, and because of its ability to form various nutrients. Nutrients in the natural growth medium are converted by Saccharomyces into a unique fermentate under anaerobic (oxygen-free) and strictly controlled growth conditions. The yeast cells are then inactivated by a gentle drying process that leaves the formed metabolites intact. In addition to non-living yeast cells, the dried yeast fermentate contains proteins, peptides, antioxidants, minerals, polyphenols, soluble and insoluble fibers, polysaccharides (beta-1,3/1,6-glucans) and mannans (polymers of mannose) in a unique, consistent composition. This makes Postbiol-EC from Vitals suitable as a daily nutritional supplement in various situations.

Permitted health claims: None

Dried yeast fermentate (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), vegetable capsule (pullulan, from fermented cassava starch), bulking agent (microcrystalline cellulose [cellulose gel]), sunflower oil (Helianthus annuus).