Effects of Bacillus polyfermenticus SCD on lipid and antioxidant metabolisms in rats fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet.

Bacillus polyfermenticus SCD, commonly referred to as Bispan strain, is used as a host in bioindustry and has been shown to have several human health benefits. In a recent in vitro study, we discovered that B. polyfermenticus SCD exerts cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant effects. Here, we evaluate the effects of B. polyfermenticus SCD on the lipid and antioxidant metabolisms of hypercholesterolemic rats. Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups after a 1-week adaptation period and were fed for 6 weeks on either a high fat-high cholesterol diet, or a high fat-high cholesterol diet supplemented with B. polyfermenticus SCD (3.1x10(6) cfu/d). B. polyfermenticus SCD significantly reduced plasma low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, hepatic total cholesterol, and triglycerides, while increasing the fecal excretion rates of total cholesterol and triglycerides. In addition, B. polyfermenticus SCD might reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, as the ratio of high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol to total cholesterol was significantly higher than in the control group. B. polyfermenticus SCD led to an increase in total radical trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP) and a decrease in conjugated dienes in plasma. The erythrocytic glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in the B. polyfermenticus group was significantly lower than that in the control group. Plasma TRAP levels exhibited a highly significant negative correlation with hepatic total cholesterol and a marginally significant negative correlation with total plasma cholesterol, while a significant positive correlation was detected between fecal total cholesterol and plasma TRAP. These results suggest that B. polyfermenticus SCD exerts significant health benefits through the modulation of physiologic functions including a variety of atherogenic lipid profiles and antioxidants in hypercholesterolemia.