Effect of potentially probiotic lactobacilli on faecal enzyme activity in minipigs on a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet - a preliminary in vivo trial

Minipigs were fed a Western-style, high-cholesterol diet for a baseline period, followed by the diet containing a mixture of three Lactobacillus strains with potential probiotic features, after which a normal pig diet was followed. The faecal enzyme activity for beta-glucuronidase and azoreductase, which are commonly considered as markers for procarcinogenic activity, was significantly reduced during the 5 weeks of probiotic supplementation. During the period of Lactobacillus administration, the cell counts for total anaerobes increased, whereas the total number of aerobes showed no change. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.