Cholesterol assimilation by Lactobacillus probiotic bacteria: an in vitro investigation

Catherine Tomaro-Duchesneau; Mitchell L Jones; Divya Shah; Poonam Jain; Shyamali Saha; Satya Prakash

doi:10.1155/2014/380316

Cholesterol assimilation by Lactobacillus probiotic bacteria: an in vitro investigation

Biomed Res Int. 2014:2014:380316. doi: 10.1155/2014/380316. Epub 2014 Sep 11.

Authors

Catherine Tomaro-Duchesneau¹, Mitchell L Jones², Divya Shah¹, Poonam Jain¹, Shyamali Saha³, Satya Prakash¹

Affiliations

¹ Biomedical Technology and Cell Therapy Research Laboratory, Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physiology, and Artificial Cells and Organs Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 3775 University Street, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2B4.
² Biomedical Technology and Cell Therapy Research Laboratory, Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physiology, and Artificial Cells and Organs Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 3775 University Street, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2B4 ; Micropharma Limited, 4200 Saint Laurent Boulevard, Unit 409, Montreal, QC, Canada H2W 2R2.
³ Biomedical Technology and Cell Therapy Research Laboratory, Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physiology, and Artificial Cells and Organs Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 3775 University Street, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2B4 ; Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 0C7.

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/10(10) cfu) in MRS broth. L. reuteri NCIMB 701089 assimilated over 67% (2254.70±63.33 mg/10(10) 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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Acyl Coenzyme A / antagonists & inhibitors
Amidohydrolases / metabolism*
Cardiovascular Diseases / drug therapy
Cardiovascular Diseases / metabolism
Cardiovascular Diseases / pathology
Cholesterol / metabolism*
Culture Media
Humans
In Vitro Techniques
Lactobacillus plantarum / metabolism*
Probiotics / metabolism*
Probiotics / therapeutic use

Substances

Acyl Coenzyme A
Culture Media
3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A
Cholesterol
Amidohydrolases
choloylglycine hydrolase

Grants and funding

MOP 264308/Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada