The anti-cholesterolemic effect of encapsulated synbiotics

Cholesterol is a fat/lipid which is produced by the liver & is crucial for normal human body. Elevated serum cholesterol level is widely recognized as a contributory risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and stroke. Synbiotics refer to nutritional supplements combining probiotics and prebiotics in a form of synergism. Probiotics are live bacteria which are intended to colonize the large intestine and confer physiological health benefits to the host. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that stimulate the growth and activity of bacteria in the digestive system. The present study was designed to study the synergistic effect of probiotic & prebiotic in encapsulated & unencapsulated form, in lowering the cholesterol level in vivo. Lactobacillus casei subsp. Casei 17 (probiotic) & Lactulose (prebiotic) were tested in unencapsulated & encapsulated form both having a 2:2 combination of probiotic (109 cells/ml) & prebiotic (5ml =3.35gm lactulose) in vivo separately for their anti-cholesteremic potential in swiss albino mice. Encapsulation was performed using Sodium Alginate (3.5%) & Calcium Chloride (75mM), resulting in the formation of calcium alginate beads of synbiotics. It was concluded that Lactobacillus casei subsp. Casei 17 & Lactulose (in the form of coencapsulated and unencapsulated synbiotic) reduced the level of cholesterol to the same extent but drug reduced the cholesterol level non-signifiantly more than the coencapsulated and unencapsulated synbiotic. Keywors: Hypercholesteremic, synbiotic, Lactobacillus casei, Lactulose, Co-encapsulated synbiotic.