Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics on Hypercholesterolemia: A Review

Cholesterol plays a major role in human health. High cholesterol is a leading risk factor for human cardiovascular disease such as atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and stroke. Excess cholesterol in the bloodstream can form plaque in the artery walls. Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. A number of pharmacological and non-pharmacological (including dietary) approaches being employed to reduce the cholesterol level. Numerous drugs that lower serum cholesterol have been developed to treat hypercholesterolemic patients, the best example being the statins drugs (Atorvastatin, Simvastatin, Rosuvastatin, and Lovastatin). However, the undesirable side effects of these compounds were observed and have caused concern about their long term therapeutic use. Several studies have been reported that the consumption of fermented dairy products decreases serum cholesterol. Probiotics are live microorganisms that promote health benefits upon consumption, while prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics and prebiotics have been suggested to reduce cholesterol via various mechanisms without any deleterious effect to the human health. This paper may throw some light to prove the ability of these synbiotics as a novel alternative or adjuvant to chemical drugs to help fight the hypercholesterolemic problem.

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Non-Nutritive Bioactive Constituents of Plants: Phytosterols

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research ◽

10.1024/0300-9831.73.2.127 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 73 (2) ◽

pp. 127-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Miettinen ◽

Gylling

Keyword(s):

Serum Cholesterol ◽

Cholesterol Absorption ◽

Plant Sterols ◽

Bioactive Constituents ◽

Lower Serum ◽

Cholesterol Levels ◽

Lower Serum Cholesterol ◽

Normal Human ◽

Plant Stanol Esters

Normal human diet contains small amounts of phytosterols, mainly sitosterol and campesterol. Intestinal absorption of these plant sterols is low, about one tenth of that of cholesterol, such that their serum concentrations are also low, about 0.1 to 1% of the cholesterol levels. Like cholesterol they are transported by lipoproteins, mainly by LDL, and secreted unchanged in bile. Addition of plant sterols, or especially of their delta-5 saturated derivatives plant stanols into diet as fat-soluble esters inhibit cholesterol absorption and lower serum cholesterol similarly in short-term studies. Long-term consumption of plant stanol esters lowers serum cholesterol to the extent expected to reduce clinical manifestation of coronary heart disease by over 20% without detectable side effecs, cholesterol lowering being especially effective in combination with cholesterol synthesis inhibitors statins.

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Nearly Lethal Resuscitated Suicide Attempters Have No Low Serum Levels of Cholesterol and Triglycerides

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.106.3.785-790 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 106 (3) ◽

pp. 785-790 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Maurizio Pompili ◽

David Lester ◽

Marco Innamorati ◽

Paolo Girardi ◽

Roberto Tatarelli

Keyword(s):

Suicide Attempt ◽

Mood Disorders ◽

Serum Cholesterol ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Suicide Attempts ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Small Sample ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Lower Serum ◽

Lower Serum Cholesterol

To verify the hypothesis that suicide attempts are associated with lower serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels of patients with mood disorders, 26 patients with mood disorders (bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder) were admitted after a medically serious suicide attempt to the emergency department and then hospitalized in the psychiatric unit of the Sant'Andrea Hospital (Rome, Italy). Controls were 87 patients who had not made a recent suicide attempt. Attempters and nonattempters did not differ in the levels of serum cholesterol or triglycerides. Indeed, attempters had nonsignificantly higher serum levels of cholesterol and lower serum levels of triglycerides. The use of biologic indicators such as levels of serum cholesterol and triglycerides in the prediction of suicide risk in mood disorders was not fully supported from this small sample.

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Estrogen deficiency worsens steatohepatitis in mice fed high-fat and high-cholesterol diet

AJP Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpgi.00211.2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 301 (6) ◽

pp. G1031-G1043 ◽

Cited By ~ 75

Author(s):

Yoshihiro Kamada ◽

Shinichi Kiso ◽

Yuichi Yoshida ◽

Norihiro Chatani ◽

Takashi Kizu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factor ◽

Liver Injury ◽

Postmenopausal Women ◽

Serum Cholesterol ◽

Estrogen Deficiency ◽

Macrophage Infiltration ◽

High Cholesterol ◽

High Fat ◽

Gene Expressions ◽

Cholesterol Levels

Recent studies indicate an accelerated progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in postmenopausal women. Hypercholesterolemia, an important risk factor for NASH progression, is often observed after menopause. This study examined the effects of estrogen on NASH in ovariectomized (OVX) mice fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet. To investigate the effects of estrogen deficiency, OVX mice and sham-operated (SO) mice were fed normal chow or HFHC diet for 6 wk. Next, to investigate the effects of exogenous estrogen replenishment, OVX mice fed with HFHC diet were treated with implanted hormone release pellets (containing 17β-estradiol or placebo vehicle) for 6 wk. OVX mice on the HFHC diet showed enhanced liver injury with increased liver macrophage infiltration and elevated serum cholesterol levels compared with SO-HFHC mice. Hepatocyte monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) protein expression in OVX-HFHC mice was also enhanced compared with SO-HFHC mice. In addition, hepatic inflammatory gene expressions, including monocytes chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2), were significantly elevated in OVX-HFHC mice. Estrogen treatment improved serum cholesterol levels, liver injury, macrophage infiltration, and inflammatory gene expressions in OVX-HFHC mice. Moreover, the elevated expression of liver CCR2 and MCP1 were decreased by estrogen treatment in OVX-HFHC mice, whereas low-density lipoprotein dose dependently enhanced CCR2 expression in THP1 monocytes. Our study demonstrated that estrogen deficiency accelerated NASH progression in OVX mice fed HFHC diet and that this effect was improved by estrogen therapy. Hypercholesterolemia in postmenopausal women would be a potential risk factor for NASH progression.

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