Abstract Biofilm-associated infections constitute an ever-increasing and ubiquitous threat to public health and safety. Biofilms, which are microbial conglomerations of sessile bacteria adhering to surfaces and forming three-dimensional architecture with an exopolysaccharide matrix, are known for their remarkable antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics, disinfectants, and sanitizers. Due to their widespread occurrence in healthcare facilities, food processing units, water systems, and marine industries severely limits the effectiveness of conventional antimicrobial strategies and accelerates the development of antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need for innovative, safe, and sustainable antibiofilm approaches. This review describes the emerging potential of Lactobacillus-derived non-viable probiotics (paraprobiotics) and probiotic-derived bioactive metabolites (postbiotics) as next-generation biofilm inhibitors. Overall, these findings highlight that these derivatives have the potential to effectively suppress biofilm formation by targeting key stages of biofilm development, including microbial adhesion, quorum-sensing signaling, and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production. Among these, several bioactive compounds such as ‘bacteriocins, organic acids, biosurfactants, lipoteichoic acids, and surface-associated proteins’ show strong antibiofilm efficacy against a broad range of pathogenic bacteria. findings emphasize that paraprobiotics and postbiotics offer several advantages over live probiotics and traditional antimicrobials, including enhanced safety, reduced risk of resistance development, cost-effectiveness, and longer shelf life. In conclusion, “Lactobacillus-derived paraprobiotics and postbiotics,” they present a very promising tool that is eco-friendly and has little to no need for resistance. Besides that, their ability to be used in various applications can greatly contribute to the better management of biofilms in a nature-friendly way, and can greatly alleviate the risks of biofilm-related infections and contaminations worldwide.
Malik et al. (2026) studied this question.