Isolation and Characteristics of Cholesterol-Lowering L. casei subsp. casei Strain GL-03 Isolated from Cheese

Cholesterol-lowering effect of lactic acid bacteria is well-known. In this study, nine cholesterol-lowering Lactobacillus strains from Chinese traditional cheese, pickle and yoghurt were screened and characterized for their potential use. The microbial content of all the strains was significantly decreased at pH 1.5, but the residual counts of L. casei subsp. casei GL-03, L. plantarum ZP-Z, L. plantarum ZP-05 and L. brevis ZP-04 were more than 107cfu/mL after 6h of incubation. All the nine strains of Lactobacillus indicated good tolerance to bile at concentration less than 0.2% after 2 or 6 h of incubation. L. plantarum ZP-W had maximum hydrophobicity towards xylene while GL-03 strain possessed maximum hydrophobicity for both hexadecane and octane. ZP-05 strain had more effective inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Shigella dysenteriae than other eight strains. These results suggest that L. casei subsp. casei GL-03 may be effective as a probiotic with cholesterol-lowing activities.