Levilactobacillus brevis from carnivores can ameliorate hypercholesterolemia: In vitro and in vivo mechanistic evidence

Aims The aim was to explore the probiotic and hypocholesterolaemic potential of two Levilactobacillus brevis strains of carnivore origin along with selected underlying mechanisms. Methods and Results Levilactobacillus brevis MT950194 and L. brevis MW365351 were analysed in vitro for oro‐gastro‐intestinal stress tolerance, cholesterol reduction, cholesterol adsorption (through scanning electron microscopy) and bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity. Strains could survive (>80%) in oro‐gastro‐intestinal conditions and reduce high amount of cholesterol (35% and 54%) from media containing bile salts (0.3%) as compared with Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 and presented the least pathogenicity towards mammalian cells. Exopolysaccharide production, cell surface cholesterol adherence and BSH activity were witnessed as possible cholesterol‐lowering mechanisms. In in vivo experiment, the treatments of hypercholesterolaemic rats with L. brevis MT950194, L. brevis MW365351 and their mixture led to significant (p