Abstract:The in vitro cholesterol removal ability of Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Bifidobacterium bifidum and the effects of probiotic-fermented soymilk on the blood lipid level and liver injury in mice fed a high-fat diet were investigated. The O-phthalaldehyde method was used to determine the in vitro cholesterol removal ability of probiotics. C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into seven groups: normal chow group, high-fat group, L. casei-fermented soymilk intervention group, L. plantarum-fermented soymilk intervention group, B. bifidum-fermented soymilk intervention group, probiotic-fermented soymilk intervention group (a mixture of the three types of probiotics), and non-fermented soymilk intervention group. After seven weeks of treatments, the related serum and liver lipid parameters were measured and the histopathological changes in the liver were observed. The in vitro cholesterol removal abilities of L. casei, L. plantarum, and B. bifidum were 43.14%, 46.27%, and 40.53%, respectively. The treatment using the soymilk fermented with the three types of probiotics significantly reduced the abdominal and perirenal fat indexes as well as the serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, while elevating the serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level. The liver TC, TG, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) levels were also reduced. In addition, the accumulation of fat in the liver was improved significantly.
