Abstract:
It has been extensively documented that elevated blood cholesterol levels (hypercholesterolemia) raises the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, the single leading cause of death worldwide. Although cholesterol-reducing drugs are available, these are associated with serious side-effects and inflated prices which has driven the development of safer and more affordable functional foods that can lower blood cholesterol levels. The study demonstrated the ability of Pediococcus acidilactici 3G3 (PA-3G3)-Mango-Soymilk drink to reduce cholesterol levels in diet-induced hypercholesterolemic mice. Thirty (30) male Swiss mice (Mus musculus) were subjected to a cholesterol-enriched diet of 0.5 mL butter administered daily via oral gavage for twenty-one (21) days. The mice were randomly divided into five (5) groups and were given the following treatments via oral gavage for fourteen (14) days: (1) Negative Control (cholesterol-enriched diet only; blood was extracted after the feeding of cholesterol-enriched diet), (2) Positive Control (25 mg/kg body weight Atorvastatin dissolved in 0.5 mL distilled water), (3) Low-dose Group (0.5 mL 10⁶ CFU/mL probiotic drink), (4) High-dose Group (0.5 mL 10⁹ CFU/mL probiotic drink), (5) Mango-Soymilk Group (0.5 mL Mango-Soymilk Drink only). Blood was extracted from the mice via retro-orbital puncture and lipid profile was determined. Results show that both Low-dose and High-dose probiotic drinks significantly lowered total cholesterol (25.17% and 33.27%, respectively) and LDL-cholesterol (46.06% and 81.08%, respectively) concentrations (p<0.05). Cholesterol-reducing ability did not differ significantly between the two doses (p>0.05). It was also observed that both doses exert similar effects with a known cholesterol-reducing drug, Atorvastatin (p>0.05). Based on these findings, PA-3G3 may be an effective inoculum in developing probiotic drinks that have the potential to reduce cholesterol levels. Further studies to determine the mechanism used by PA-3G3 in lowering cholesterol levels may be conducted to strengthen the results of this study.
