Cholesterol Assimilation byLactobacillusProbiotic Bacteria: AnIn VitroInvestigation

Abstract

Excess cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), an important cause of mortality worldwide. Current CVD therapeutic measures, lifestyle and dietary interventions, and pharmaceutical agents for regulating cholesterol levels are inadequate. Probiotic bacteria have demonstrated potential to lower cholesterol levels by different mechanisms, including bile salt hydrolase activity, production of compounds that inhibit enzymes such as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A, and cholesterol assimilation. This work investigates 11Lactobacillusstrains for cholesterol assimilation. Probiotic strains for investigation were selected from the literature:Lactobacillus reuteriNCIMB 11951,L. reuteriNCIMB 701359,L. reuteriNCIMB 702655,L. reuteriNCIMB 701089,L. reuteriNCIMB 702656,Lactobacillus fermentumNCIMB 5221,L. fermentumNCIMB 8829,L. fermentumNCIMB 2797,Lactobacillus rhamnosusATCC 53103 GG,Lactobacillus acidophilusATCC 314, andLactobacillus plantarumATCC 14917. Cholesterol assimilation was investigated in culture media and under simulated intestinal conditions. The best cholesterol assimilator wasL. plantarumATCC 14917 (15.18 ± 0.55 mg/1010 cfu) in MRS broth.L. reuteriNCIMB 701089 assimilated over 67% (2254.70 ± 63.33 mg/1010 cfu) of cholesterol, the most of all the strains, under intestinal conditions. This work demonstrates that probiotic bacteria can assimilate cholesterol under intestinal conditions, withL. reuteriNCIMB 701089 showing great potential as a CVD therapeutic.