Effects of probiotic bacteria, isoflavones and simvastatin on lipid profile and atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits: a randomized double-blind study

Abstract

BackgroundMuch attention has been drawn to different alternative strategies for cardiovascular disease prevention. Objective: The aim of the present study was to observe and compare the effects of Enterococcus faecium CRL183 (probiotic microorganism), an isoflavones mixture and simvastatin (drug used to treat hypercholesterolemia) on lipid parameters and atherosclerosis development in rabbits with induced hypercholesterolemia.MethodsThe animals were randomly allocated to 5 experimental groups (n = 6) for 60 days: control (C) that did not consume cholesterol, hypercholesterolemic (H) that consumed an atherogenic diet (1.0% cholesterol wt/wt), hypercholesterolemic plus E. faecium (HE), hypercholesterolemic plus isoflavone (HI) and hypercholesterolemic plus simvastatin (HS). Total and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were determined by enzymatic methods; non-HDL-C was calculated by subtracting HDL-C from total cholesterol; and atherosclerosis was presented as the percentage of lesion area, relative to the total area from the aorta segment analyzed.ResultsSimvastatin significantly reduced the tot cholesterol (16%) and non-HDL-C level (17%) and increased the HDL-C (98%), compared to group H. E. faecium raised the HDL-C level by 43.3% (P < 0.05). Isoflavone decreased the total cholesterol and non-HDL-C concentrations (9%), but this effect was not statistically significant. At the end of the treatments, groups HE and HS had significantly lower levels of triglycerides in relation to H and HI. The atherosclerotic lesion area in the aortic arch was not different between groups. The extent of atherosclerosis in the thoracic and abdominal aorta was reduced in the groups HI and HS by 22.7% and 26.7% respectively, but this effect was not significant (P > 0.05).ConclusionThe results indicated that probiotic microorganism E. faecium CRL 183 could be used to improve the lipid profile as an alternative or an adjuvant for drug therapy. The effectiveness of simvastatin in the management of blood lipid was confirmed. There were no effects of soy isoflavones, E. faecium and simvastatin on atherosclerosis development.

Effect of Supplementation of Encapulated Bifidobactrium bifidum 235 in Milk Fat Rich Diet on the Feed Intake, Body Weight Gain, and FCR of Experimental Rats

“…Similar results were also reported by Amr et al, (2011), Cavallini et al, (2009) and Chovancikova and Simek (2001. There was an increasing trend of body weight gains in all the groups.…”

Intermittent feeding programme and addition of &lt;i&gt;Bacillus subtilis&lt;/i&gt; based probiotics to the diet of growing broiler chickens: Influence on growth, hepatic enzymes and serum lipid metabolites profile

“…Fazeli et al (2010) showed that addition of Lactobacillus plantarum to mice diet reduced serum cholesterol, LDL and TG. Cavallini et al (2009) reported that addition of Enterococcus faecium-based probiotic to a rabbit diet decreased the blood TG. Dibaji et al (2012) found that the use of symbiotic at a certain concentration in diet could significantly reduce the LDL and HDL to LDL ratio in serum but did not affect HDL, VLDL, TG and cholesterol levels.…”

Meat Characteristic of Crossbred Local Chicken Fed Inulin of Dahlia Tuber and Lactobacillus sp.

“…This finding was supported by Yakhkeshi et al (2012) that the decrease in acetyl-CoA carboxylase enzyme activity could decrease the hepatic lipogenesis because the deposition of meat fat was derived from fat synthesis via hepatic lipogenesis. Cavallini et al (2009) reported that lactic acid bacteria can produce statins, namely a substance as an inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutarin CoA reductase which is function as regulator enzyme of fat biosynthesis, cholesterol, and triglycerides. This fat reduction mechanism started when the inhibitor reduced cholesterol in hepatocytes and improved the performance of high density lipoprotein (HDL) so that it can reduce the fat content.…”