益生菌降解胆固醇的作用及机理研究进展

益生菌是来源于宿主并对宿主健康有一定促进作用的微生物。降胆固醇功能是某些益生菌的主要益生功能之一。近年来国际上对益生菌降胆固醇的体外和体内研究进展，主要包括菌体生长与降胆固醇的关系、pH的影响、胆酸盐的作用、胆酸盐水解酶活性、益生元的使用、人和动物喂养实验等方面。目前人们提出的益生菌降胆固醇作用机理的假说主要有共沉淀作用、酶对胆酸盐的分解作用、胆固醇掺入细胞膜、细菌对胆固醇的吸收等，这些机理假说尚有待进一步研究证实。降胆固醇益生菌制品研发的前景十分广阔。

Progress in the effect of probiotics on cholesterol and its mechanism

Because in vitro studies have shown that bacteria can remove cholesterol from culture media, much attention has been given to the cholesterol-lowering potential of probiotics--especially Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract and have beneficial effects on the host. Recent research development concerning the in vitro and in vivo experimental data were reviewed in this paper, including relationship between microbial growth and removal of cholesterol, impact of pH, function of bile salts, BSH activities, prebiotics, feeding trial on human beings and animals. Moreover, some hypotheses on mechanism of cholesterol removal were discussed, such as co-precipitation with bile salts, deconjugation of BSH to bile salts, incorporation of cholesterol into the cellular membrane and microbial assimilation of cholesterol. In addition, the future research directions and the prospect of the probiotics were also viewed.