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. 2025 Jan 17;25(1):7.
doi: 10.1186/s12896-024-00943-5.

Potentially probiotic NPL 1334 strain of Enterococcus durans benefits rats with diet-induced hypercholesterolemia

Hannan Rashid  1   2 , Haseeb Anwar  3 , Fakhir Mehmood Baig  3 , Imran Mukhtar  3 , Tariq Muhammad  1   2 , Arsalan Zaidi  4   5
Affiliations

Potentially probiotic NPL 1334 strain of Enterococcus durans benefits rats with diet-induced hypercholesterolemia

Hannan Rashid et al. BMC Biotechnol. .

Abstract

Purpose: To study the potential of a candidate probiotic strain belonging to the Enterococcus durans species in alleviating hypercholesterolemia and improving the microbial milieu of rat gut.

Methods: A previously isolated and characterized E. durans strain NPL 1334 was further screened in vitro for its bile salt hydrolyzation and cholesterol assimilation ability. An in vivo trial using diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rats was conducted to evaluate the effects of the administered test probiotic strain on the animal's blood biochemical parameters such as total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipopolysaccharides (HDL), low-density lipopolysaccharides (LDL), triglycerides (TG), on body weight, oxidative stress markers, and its impact on intestinal and fecal microbiota as well as a histopathological examination of the test animal's livers.

Results: E. durans strain showed good bile salt hydrolyzing ability and ample cholesterol assimilation in vitro. Probiotic-fed hypercholesterolemic rats showed significantly lowered cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL levels. The body weight of probiotic-fed rats was reduced as compared to the control. E. durans also stimulated the growth of beneficial LAB in the intestine of experimental rats and did not harm the liver of the experimental rats.

Conclusion: E. durans can be a natural therapeutic alternative to manage diet-induced hypercholesterolemia and may eventually enhance anti-cholesterolemic therapies.

Keywords: Antioxidant potential; Enterococcus; Gut microbiota; Hypercholesterolemia; Probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: Animal research was done according to the Declaration of Helsinki, which gives guidelines for caring and using institutional laboratory animals for research. The Ethical and Biomedical Committee of the Department of Physiology, Government College University Faisalabad, reviewed and approved the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a). Phylogenetic relativeness of strains of various LAB spp. isolated from the gut and feces of rats administered the E. durans strain, b) Enterococcal strains recovered from the control and fenofibrate fed group rat’s gut and feces based on 16 S rDNA gene sequences. The tree was constructed with MEGA XI software using neighbor joining method
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of liver enzymes A) ALT and B) AST of control and treated groups. Where, C1Control, C2HCD fed rats, G1Probiotic Group, G2Fenofibrate Group, G3Probiotic + Fenofibrate Group. Where ns = non-significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Total oxidant status (TOS) and Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) of control and treated groups. Where, C1Control, C2HCD fed rats, G1Probiotic Group, G2Fenofibrate Group, G3Probiotic + Fenofibrate Group. Where ns = non-significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Gross examination of control and experimental group’s rat liver. Where, C1Control, C2HCD fed rats, G1Probiotic Group, G2Fenofibrate Group, G3Probiotic + Fenofibrate Group
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Photomicrographs of Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stained sections of Liver of Probiotic and Fenofibrate fed rats (magnification 400X). Where, C1Control, C2HCD fed rats, G1Probiotic Group, G2Fenofibrate Group, G3Probiotic + Fenofibrate Group
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