In vitro evaluation of the cholesterol-reducing ability of a potential probiotic Bacillus spp

The cholesterol removal ability of three potential
probiotic Bacillus spp., namely, B. flexusMCC 2458, B. flexus
MCC 2427 and B. licheniformis MCC 2514, has been studied.
All the three isolates were deprived of bile salt hydrolase enzyme,
but they were still able to remove cholesterol by other
mechanisms which were strain-dependent. B. flexus MCC
2427 used cholesterol oxidase (2.5 U/mL) for cholesterol removal,
whereas B. flexus MCC 2458 underwent coprecipitation
in the presence of bile. B. licheniformis MCC
2514 was involved in cholesterol assimilation, which was also
confirmed through an increase in saturated and unsaturated
fatty acid contents in the cellular lipid profile. An interesting
observation was that the cell-free supernatants of all three
isolates exhibited cholesterol-reducing ability and that all were
stable at both acidic and alkaline pH. Although the cultures
were observed to differ in behavior, their hypocholesterolemic
effect satisfies a criterion for their potential application in the
food and pharmaceutical industries.