Cholesterol-Lowering Activity of <i>Lactiplantibacillus pentosus</i> KS6I1 in High-Cholesterol Diet-Induced Hypercholesterolemic Mice

Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor of coronary heart disease and cholesterol-lowering probiotics are seen as alternative to drugs for the management of this condition. In the present study, we evaluated the cholesterol-lowering activity of <i>Lactiplantibacillus pentosus</i> KS6I1 in high-cholesterol diet-induced hypercholesterolemic mice. The mice were fed with high-cholesterol diet (HCD) and were divided into three groups: HCD group, KS6I1 group (fed with HCD + 200 μl of 10¹⁰ CFU/ml <i>L. pentosus</i> KS6I1), and L.ac group (fed with HCD + 200 μl of 10¹⁰ CFU/ml <i>L. acidophilus</i> ATCC 43121 as the positive control). Simultaneously, a normal control diet (NCD) group was maintained. After 6 weeks, the low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and total cholesterol levels were significantly reduced in the blood plasma of KS6I1 group mice. Analysis of liver tissue showed a decrease in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol and increase in triglyceride levels in KS6I1 compared to those in HCD group. Fecal total cholesterol and total bile acid content was significantly increased in the KS6I1 group than in other groups. Additionally, gene expression analysis showed that <i>LDLR</i>, <i>SREBF2</i>, <i>CYP7A1</i> genes were significantly upregulated in KS6I1 group compared to the HCD group, while the expression of NPC1L1 gene was significantly reduced in KS6I1 group compared to HCD group. These observations show that the cholesterol-lowering effect of <i>L. pentosus</i> KS6I1 could be attributed to increased excretion of bile acids and cholesterol in the feces of mice. These results indicate that <i>L. pentosus</i> KS6I1 could be developed into a potential probiotic for hypercholesterolemia.