Synbiotic effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4962, fructooligosaccharide, mannitol and inulin on serum lipid profiles, intestinal lactobacilli population and intestinal organic acids concentration in rats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a synbiotic containing Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4962, fructooligosaccharide, inulin and mannitol on serum lipid profiles, intestinal lactobacilli and organic acids concentration in male Wistar rats on a high-cholesterol diet. Thirty rats were randomly allocated to five treatment groups for 6 weeks (n=6). Treatment groups were the control which had no synbiotic, diets that contained L acidophilus and fructooligosaccharide (LF), L. acidophilus and mannitol (LM), L acidophilus and inulin (LI) and L acidophilus and all three prebiotics (LFMI). The LFMI diet reduced serum total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels by 32.40%, 32.51 % and 42.95%, respectively than the control diet. This may be contributed by the increased production of propionic acid, which has been found to inhibit the synthesis of fatty acids. The LFMI diet also showed a constant population of total lactobacilli across the intestine compared to the control.