Beneficial effect of Lactobacillus fermentum GLF-217 on hyperlipidemia in high-fat diet golden hamsters by regulating gut microbiota

To investigate the hypolipidemic and modulation effects of probiotics, the golden hamster of hyperlipidemia model was established and intervened with Lactobacillus fermentum GLF-217 (GLF-217) and lovastatin (LOV) for 6 weeks. Body weight and serum biochemical indexes were measured, and liver, colonic contents, and feces were collected after autopsy for pathological and gut microbiota analysis. The results showed that the intervention of GLF-217 and LOV could significantly reduce serum lipid levels and liver fat accumulation in golden hamsters on a high-fat diet, more importantly, the LOV intervention could cause damage to the liver. The LOV intervention significantly reduced the contents of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the colonic and downregulated the abundance of SCFAs-producing bacteria, but GLF-217 intake increased butyric acid, thus reducing blood lipids and protected the liver. This study elucidates the possible mechanism of the hypolipidemic effect of probiotics in terms of regulating gut microbiota.