title: Beneﬁcial effects of probiotic cholesterol-lowering strain of Enterococcus faecium WEFA23 from infants on diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats.
abstract: The aim of this study was to select probiotic Enterococcus strains that have the potential to improve metabolic syndrome (MS). Ten Enterococcus strains isolated from healthy infants were evaluated for their probiotic properties in vitro, and Enterococcus faecium WEFA23 was selected due to its cholesterol removal ability (1.89 ± 0.07 mg/1010cfu), highest glycodeoxycholic acid-hydrolase activity (1.86 ± 0.01 U/mg), and strong adhesion capacity to Caco-2 cells (17.90 ± 0.19%). The safety of E. faecium WEFA23 was verified by acute oral administration in mice, and it was found to have no adverse effects on general health status, bacterial translocation, and gut mucosal histology. Moreover, the beneﬁcial effects of E. faecium WEFA23 on high-fat diet-induced MS in rats were investigated, and we found WEFA23 signiﬁcantly decreased body weight, serum lipid levels (total cholesterol, triacylglycerols, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), blood glucose level, and insulin resistance in rats fed with a high-fat diet. This indicated that administration of E. faecium WEFA23 improved almost all key markers of MS, including obesity, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance. Our results supported E. faecium WEFA23 as a candidate for cholesterol-lowering dairy products and improvement of MS. Our research provided novel insights on Enterococcus as a strategy to combat MS.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors.forename: Fen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors.forename: Xiongpeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors.forename: Zhengqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors.forename: Xueying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Food and Nutritional Science, School of Biological Science, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong 999077, China.
authors.forename: Nagendra P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China. Electronic address: weihua@ncu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D016984:Enterococcus faecium; D006801:Humans; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome; D051379:Mice; D010063:Ovum; D019936:Probiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: cholesterol; enterococci; metabolic syndrome; probiotic