Effect of bile salt hydrolase-active Lactobacillus plantarum KLDS 1.0344 on cholesterol metabolism in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet

The present study aimed to evaluate bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity and hypocholesterolemic effect of Lactobacillus plantarum KLDS 1.0344. BSH activity of the strain KLDS 1.0344 varied with different bile salts. High-cholesterol diet-induced male Sprague-Dawley rats were simultaneously administrated with strain KLDS 1.0344 for 4 weeks. The strain KLDS 1.0344 significantly improved lipid profiles in serum and liver, and increased fecal total cholesterol and total bile acids levels in high-cholesterol diet-fed rats (P < 0.05), and superior to L. rhamnosus GG. Moreover, expressions of genes related to cholesterol metabolism were regulated by the strain KLDS 1.0344, including down-regulation of hepatic HMGCR and FXR and intestinal NPC1L1, and up-regulation of intestinal LXRα, ABCG5, ABCG8 and ABCA1 and hepatic CYP7A1 (P < 0.05). The hypocholeseterolemic effect of L. plantarum KLDS 1.0344 was modulated most likely by pathway of cholesterol absorption, synthesis, and catabolism, which might be partly due to its BSH activity.