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Effects of probiotics and prebiotics on blood lipids

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2019

Gary R. J. Taylor  and
Christine M. Williams
Gary R. J. Taylor
Affiliation:
Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, UK
Christine M. Williams
Affiliation:
Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, UK
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Abstract

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Since the early work of Mann and Spoerry, probiotics in the form of fermented milk products have been reputed to have cholesterol-lowering properties in humans. However, studies conducted since the early 1970s have produced equivocal findings, with interpretation of the outcomes complicated by use of excessive quantities of product, inadequate sample sizes, failure to control nutrient intake and energy expenditure and variations in baseline blood lipids. More recent studies are of better quality, but fail to provide convincing evidence that ‘live’ fermented milk products have cholesterol-lowering efficacy in man. Future studies using probiotics should ensure adequate sample sizes sufficient to detect relatively small changes in blood cholesterol and should be conducted over longer periods of time. The recent introduction of the concept of prebiotics has directed attention towards the possibility that alterations in gut microflora induced by the fermentation of non-digestible components of the diet may also have the potential to influence systemic lipid metabolism. This possibility has been strengthened by the observation that in animals, dietary oligofructosaccharides cause suppression of hepatic triglyceride and VLDL synthesis, resulting in marked reductions in triglyceride, and to a lesser extent cholesterol, levels. Evidence for similar effects in humans is sparse and more studies are needed, particularly with respect to effects on postprandial triglyceride concentrations.

Keywords

ProbioticsBlood lipidsPrebiotics
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 80 , supplement S2: Pre- and Probiotics: Where are We Today? , October 1998 , pp. S225 - S230
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1998

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