Cholesterol-Lowering Effects of Probiotics and Prebiotics: A Review of in Vivo and in Vitro Findings
By L. Ooi, M. Liong. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2010
728 citations recorded by the source corpus.
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/or prebiotics could be used as alternative supplements to exert health benefits, including cholesterol-lowering effects on humans. Past in vivo studies showed that the administration of probiotics and/or prebiotics are effective in improving lipid profiles, including the reduction of serum/plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides or increment of HDL-cholesterol. However, other past studies have also shown that probiotics and prebiotics had insignificant effects on lipid profiles, disputing the hypocholesterolemic claim. Additionally, little information is available on the effective dosage of probiotics and prebiotics needed to exert hypocholesterolemic effects. Probiotics and prebiotics have been suggested to reduce cholesterol via various mechanisms. However, more clinical evidence is needed to strengthen these proposals. Safety issues regarding probiotics and/or prebiotics have also been raised despite their long history of safe use. Although probiotic-mediated infections are rare, several cases of systemic infections caused by probiotics have been reported and the issue of antibiotic resistance has sparked much debate. Prebiotics, classified as food ingredients, are generally considered safe, but overconsumption could cause intestinal discomfort. Conscientious prescription of probiotics and/or prebiotics is crucial, especially when administering to specific high risk groups such as infants, the elderly and the immuno-compromised.
Subfields: Genetics, Nutrition and Dietetics
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2ce23bfe49a404dc7b99041d7eb9ff13692f9157
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Citations in the corpus
- Effects of black cumin seed (Nigella sativa L.), a probiotic, a prebiotic and a synbiotic on growth performance, immune response and blood characteristics of male broilers (2014, background): “Some of the microorganisms present in the probiotic and synbiotic preparation may also modify blood cholesterol by deconjugating bile acids to produce free bile acids or directly binding dietary cholesterol into the small intestine during fat digestion before cholesterol can be absorbed into the blo”
- The Hologenome Concept: Human, Animal and Plant Microbiota (2014, background): “…et al. 2006), anti-colon cancer properties (Liong 2008), lipid lowering 152 10 Prebiotics, Probiotics, Synbiotics, and Phage Therapy action (Ooi and Liong 2010), improved calcium bioavailability and osteoporosis management (Cashman 2003), alleviation of menopausal symptoms (Smejkal et al.…”