Abstract
Cholesterol is important for both humans and animals to maintain their normal health. However, increased serum cholesterol level can cause several cardiovascular diseases. Higher cholesterol in the blood will develop a plaque in the walls of artery. Numerous pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods have been used to decrease the blood cholesterol. Various drugs have been developed to treat hypercholesterolemia, and the most common drugs include atorvastatin and rosuvastatin (statin drugs). However, prolonged usage of these drugs causes severe side effects. During the past decades, various scientists reported that the ingestion of several fermented products with probiotic bacteria decreases the serum cholesterol level. Probiotics are viable microorganisms that promote various health benefits upon consumption, while prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients, which promote the growth of probiotic microorganisms in the human gut. The cholesterol reduction mechanism of probiotic bacteria is not well understood; however, most of the probiotic bacteria reduce the serum cholesterol level by using the bile salt deconjugation method. Herein, we review the cholesterol-reducing capability of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics and use them as an alternative for cholesterol-reducing drugs which is used for hypercholesterolemia.
Highlights
Increased serum cholesterol level can cause several cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) including coronary heart diseases, atherosclerosis, and hypertension
Synbiotics are referred to as usage of both probiotics and prebiotics together. e combination of suitable probiotics and prebiotics drastically improves the activity of the probiotic microorganism. e example for synbiotics is a combination of a FOS and a Bifidobacterium strain or lactitol with Lactobacillus strains [23]
Results from this study showed that the daily intake of 375 mL of synbiotic milk (made of 107-108 CFU/g Lactobacillus acidophilus and 2.5% (g/100 g) fructooligosaccharides) resulted in a significant decrease in total cholesterol level (P < 0.001), low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) cholesterol concentration (P < 0.005), and LDL/high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) ratio (P < 0.05) of 4.4%, 5.4%, and 5.3%, respectively [54]
Summary
Increased serum cholesterol level can cause several cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) including coronary heart diseases, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. Metchnikoff observed Bulgarian peoples consuming milk which is fermented with rod-shaped Lactobacillus spp. and improved their health He suggested that these probiotic bacteria have positive effects in the gut microflora and exclude the intestinal pathogens in the human intestine [6, 8, 9]. Lactobacilli are found in various habitats including carbohydrate-rich substrates (i.e., fermented milk), plant products, mucosal membranes of both humans and animals, rotten food items, and sewage [15]. Both human and animal intestinal microflora predominantly comprise of several Bifidobacterial species during their lifetime. Indigestible carbohydrates, oligosaccharides, gained attraction among the researchers [31]
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