The Mechanisms of the Potential Probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum against Cardiovascular Disease and the Recent Developments in its Fermented Foods

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become the leading cause of death worldwide. Many recent studies have pointed out that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (Lb. plantarum) has great potential in reducing the risk of CVD. Lb. plantarum is a kind of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) widely distributed in fermented food and the human intestinal tract, some strains of which have important effects on human health and the potential to be developed into probiotics. In this review, we summarize the mechanism of potential probiotic strains of Lb. plantarum against CVD. It could regulate the body's metabolism at the molecular, cellular, and population levels, thereby lowering blood glucose and blood lipids, regulating blood pressure, and ultimately reducing the incidence of CVD. Furthermore, since Lb. plantarum is widely utilized in food industry, we highlight some of the most important new developments in fermented food for combating CVD; providing an insight into these fermented foods can assist scientists in improving the quality of these foods as well as alleviating patients' CVD symptoms. We hope that in the future functional foods fermented by Lb. plantarum can be developed and incorporated into the daily diet to assist medication in alleviating CVD to some extent, and maintaining good health.

Keywords: Lactiplantibacillus plantarum; cardiovascular disease; fermentation; nutriceuticals; probiotic functional foods; probiotics.

Figure 1

Impacts of different factors on cardiovascular health. There are mainly many causes that will lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and potential probiotic strains of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (Lb. plantarum), one kind of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), may have the ability to protect the cardiovascular system. (“−“means that this factor is harmful to the health of the cardiovascular system, and “+” means that this factor promotes the health of the cardiovascular system) (Created with Biorender.com).

Figure 2

The blood pressure-lowering mechanism of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum fermented food.Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (Lb. plantarum) fermented foods can produce angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which can prevent bradykinin from degrading and angiotensin I from transforming, thus relieving hypertension symptoms. (“−“ means inhibition) (Created with Biorender.com).

Figure 3

Mechanism of cholesterol lowering by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum via bile acids.Lactiplantibacillus plantarum reduces cholesterol by regulating the metabolism of bile acids that consume cholesterol, as well as promoting the combination of bile acids and cholesterol into precipitates. (FXR—farnesoid X receptor, LXR—liver X receptor, CYP7A1—cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase) (Created with Biorender.com).

Figure 4

The blood glucose lowering mechanism of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum.Lactiplantibacillus plantarum lowering glucose level through gut microbiota, which can regulate the expression of Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), as well the Adenosine 5‘-monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway, meanwhile reducing the level of transporter SGLT2, GLUT5, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and fasting glucose. Immune cell function is regarded as a possible mechanism but still needs further study. (“+” means upregulation, “−“ means downregulation and “±“ means upregulation or downregulation) (Created with Biorender.com).

Figure 5

The application of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in several different types of food.Lactiplantibacillus plantarum has been widely used as a fermenting strain in the production of a wide range of fermented foods. (Created with Biorender.com).