Cholesterol-lowering effects of Bacillus coagulans B37 and Bacillus pumilus B9 strains in a rat animal model

An experiment was conducted for the 56 d period in thirty six adult male albino Wister rats divided equally into four groups. After 7 d adaptation period, all the groups were fed with cholesterol enriched diet for 14 d. Thereafter, one group (T1) was fed on sterile skim milk along with cholesterolemic diet for the next 21 d. The two experimental groups (T2 and T3) received cholesterolemic diet plus spore biomass of B. coagulans B37 and B. pumilus B9, respectively, suspended in sterilized skim milk @ 8-9 log cfu/ ml for the next 21 d. The control group was supplied with clean water along with cholesterolemic diet for 21 d. All the animals were fed on the basal diet along with water during a 14 d post-treatment period. After the adaptation period, the blood samples were collected weekly from the experimental rats up to 42 d, and plasma separated, and subjected to the determination of different plasma lipid fractions. The oral administration of both B. coagulans B37 and B. pumilus B9 resulted a decrease (P<0.05) in plasma cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentrations and atherogenic index in the experimental rats.