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 11 Lactobacillus strains for cholesterol assimilation. Probiotic strains for investigation were selected from the literature: Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 11951, L. reuteri NCIMB 701359, L. reuteri NCIMB 702655, L. reuteri NCIMB 701089, L. reuteri NCIMB 702656, Lactobacillus fermentum NCIMB 5221, L. fermentum NCIMB 8829, L. fermentum NCIMB 2797, Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 53103 GG, Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 314, and Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 14917. Cholesterol assimilation was investigated in culture media and under simulated intestinal conditions. The best cholesterol assimilator was L. plantarum ATCC 14917 (15.18 ± 0.55 mg/1010 cfu) in MRS broth. L. reuteri NCIMB 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, with L. reuteri NCIMB 701089 showing great potential as a CVD therapeutic.
Highlights
Studies by Anitschkow demonstrated that cholesterol administration results in symptoms of atherosclerosis [1], contributing to the lipid hypothesis, formulated by Duff and McMillan, which proposed an association between cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) [2]
The hypocholesterolemic effects of probiotic bacteria have been linked to intrinsic bile salt hydrolase activity [14], cholesterol assimilation and incorporation in cellular membranes [15, 16], and the production of compounds, such as ferulic acid (FA) [17, 18], that can inhibit the activity of enzymes, including hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase [19]
A probiotic formulation could be developed as a combination therapy with pharmaceutics such as statins. These results provide an initial screening of probiotic strains for their efficacy as cholesterol-lowering therapeutics via cholesterol assimilation
Summary
Studies by Anitschkow demonstrated that cholesterol administration results in symptoms of atherosclerosis [1], contributing to the lipid hypothesis, formulated by Duff and McMillan, which proposed an association between cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) [2]. Coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common CVD, is the leading cause of death and accounts for 7.25 million deaths globally [4]. Pharmacological agents are being administered to target elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels [5, 6], including 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins), fibric acids, high-density lipoprotein stimulators (nicotinic acids), cholesterol absorption inhibitors (ezetimibe), and bile acid sequestrants. These pharmaceutics, have important limitations, with only 38% of dyslipidemia and 18% of CAD patients attaining the National Cholesterol Education Program goals [7]. There is a dire need for additional therapeutic modalities to lower cholesterol levels
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