Lactobacillus plantarum J26 postbiotics alleviate high‐fat and high‐cholesterol diet‐induced hypercholesterolemia via regulating the LXRα‐CYP7A1‐bile acid‐excretion pathway

Abstract

Abstract Postbiotics have received increasing interest for their storage stability and safety compared to probiotics, as well as their potential functionality. In this study, edible Lactobacillus plantarum J26 postbiotics (J26P) were prepared by spray drying using skimmed milk as the medium, and 1113 compounds were identified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cholesterol lowering effect of J26P on hypercholesterolemic mice induced by a high‐fat and high‐cholesterol diet (HCD). The results suggest that J26P significantly alleviated weight gain and appetite reduction in HCD mice. J26P also improved serum and liver biochemical parameters at various levels, including lower total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) in the serum, and TC, TG, LDL‐C, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, and glutamic‐pyruvic transaminase in the liver, and increase high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol in the serum and liver. Moreover, liver histopathologic examinations revealed that J26P significantly inhibited fat accumulation and degeneration in hypercholesterolemic mice and increased the expression of liver uncoupling protein 1. Furthermore, the J26P intervention effectively promoted the reduction of cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic mice via the LXRα‐CYP7A1‐bile acid‐excretion pathway, which was corroborated by the increased fecal total cholesterol and fecal total bile acid levels. This work provided a theoretical basis for the industrial development of postbiotics and the alleviation of hypercholesterolemia and its complications.

Keywords

• bile acid
• cholesterol lowering
• edible
• Lactobacillus plantarum J26
• postbiotics
• spray drying