Probiotic effects of Lactobacillus fermentum I631 and Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 on hypercholesteremic golden hamsters

Authors: YANG, DONGTING - Zhejiang University; HU, ZIYI - Zhejiang University; GAO, JITING - Zhejiang University; ZHENG, ZHIYAO - Zhejiang University; WANG, WEIJUN - Zhejiang Yiming Food Co Ltd; LIU, JIANXIN - Zhejiang University; Firrman, Jenni; REN, DAXI - Zhejiang University

Submitted to: Frontiers in Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/17/2021
Publication Date: 6/21/2021
Citation: Yang, D., Hu, Z., Gao, J., Zheng, Z., Wang, W., Liu, J., Firrman, J., Ren, D. 2021. Probiotic effects of Lactobacillus fermentum I631 and Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 on hypercholesteremic golden hamsters. Frontiers in Nutrition. 8:705763. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.705763.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.705763

Interpretive Summary: Probiotics are bacteria that can be consumed as part of the diet and are known to be beneficial to human health. It has been proposed that some probiotics contribute to a positive health outcome by reducing the levels of harmful lipids in the bloodstream or by causing beneficial changes to the native bacteria that live in the gut, collectively referred to as the gut microbiota. However, it was unclear whether or not two known probiotics, Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 and Lactobacillus fermentum I631, were capable of having these effects. Here, the ability for Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 and Lactobacillus fermentum I631 to effect lipid levels and produce changes to the gut microbiota of golden hamsters was examined. The results found that feeding the golden hamsters Lactobacillus fermentum I631 lowered levels of harmful lipids and increased production of healthy byproducts from the gut microbiota; however, Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 did not produce these outcomes at the same level. These results are significant to the study of probiotics because they provide detailed information on how probiotics may be linked to human health. Importantly, these findings show the potential use for Lactobacillus fermentum I631 as a dietary aid to help maintain cardiovascular health.

Technical Abstract: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of Lactobacillus fermentum I631 and Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 on hyperlipidemic golden hamsters. After 8 weeks of feeding with lyophilized Lactobacillus fermentum I631 or Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08, physiological and biomedical indexes, short chain fatty acid production, and cecum microflora population dynamics for hyperlipidemic golden hamsters on a high cholesterol diet were determined. Results showed that neither Lactobacillus fermentum I631 nor Lactobacillus plantarum ZY08 inhibited body weight increase. However, after 8 weeks of supplementation with Lactobacillus fermentum I631, caecum short chain fatty acid levels (P<0.05) significantly increased, and serum low density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, and triglycerides decreased. Although supplementation with Lactobacillus fermentum I631 positively affected serum lipid levels, it was unable to reverse the changes that occurred in the microbiota community due to the development of hyperlipidemia in golden hamsters. There was an observed increase of Parabacteroides in the cecum of golden hamsters supplemented with Lactobacillus fermentum I631, which served as a biomarker for colon SCFA production and improvement of serum cholesterol levels. Taken together, the results demonstrated that Lactobacillus fermentum I631 improved hyperlipidemia in golden hamsters by increasing short chain fatty acid levels and the relative abundance of Parabacteroides, which could be used for functional food development in the future.