Biol. Pharm. Bull. 28(7) 1270—1274 (2005)

terolemia is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease such as atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, heart attacks, and cerebrovascular diseases. Recently, hypercholesterolemia has been associated with enhanced oxidative stress related to increased lipid peroxidation. Increased generation of oxidized low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) is a major factor in the vascular damage associated with high cholesterol levels. Therefore the inhibition of oxidative stress under hypercholesterolemic conditions is considered to be an important therapeutic approach, and many efforts have been made to identify the antioxidative functions of various materials, including medicinal plants as dietary additives. Numerous drugs that lower cholesterol, including 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA) inhibitors like lovastatin and simvastatin, which inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis, have been used to treat hypercholesterolemia. However, the undesirable side effects of these compounds have raised concerns regarding their therapeutic use. Probiotics, defined as the use of viable microbial dietary supplements that beneficially affect the host through their effects on the intestinal tract, are quickly gaining attention. In this era of self-care and complementary medicine, probiotic techniques are being increasingly utilized in the search for functional foods. Since Shaper et al. and Mann observed that the consumption of large quantities of fermented milk containing a wild Lactobacillus by the Samburu and Masai tribes of Africa resulted in reductions in serum cholesterol levels, the ingestion of probiotic lactic acid bacteria has been pursued as a more natural way to decrease human cholesterol levels. It has been also reported that probiotic bacteria or their extracts exert antioxidative effects in vitro, and exhibit a protective effect against hemolysis in vitamin E-deficient rats. Strains of Bacillus polyfermenticus SCD, commonly known as Bispan strains commercially, have been used in the treatment of long-term intestinal disorders, as the live strains are able to access the intestines in the form of active endospores. B. polyfermenticus strain was first isolated from an air sample by Dr. Terakado in 1933. It produces a variety of enzymes, most of which can lyse pathogenic strains such as typhoid bacillus, paratyphoid bacillus, shigella, and cholera. Moreover, the uptake of B. polyfermenticus strains promotes human digestion, serving as a source of vitamins B1 and B2 and bolstering protection against nonoral infections and oral immunization. B. polyfermenticus strains are described in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia as amylolytic bacilli, together with Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus mesentericus. However, the term Bispan does not appear in international nomenclature such as Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. Several studies have suggested that B. polyfermenticus SCD is significantly similar to B. subtilis strains in terms of their morphologic and biochemical properties. However, B. polyfermenticus SCD is distinct from B. subtilis strains, as the former are capable of metabolizing lactose and produce a larger amount of acetic and lactic acid from glucose and lactose, respectively, than the latter. In a recent in vitro experiment, we have determined that B. polyfermenticus has cholesterol-reducing activity, and exerted antioxidative effects. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate B. polyfermenticus SCD with regard to its use as an agent for improving plasma, hepatic, and fecal lipid profiles. Thus we attempted to characterize its cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant effects on rats who were fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet. 1270 Biol. Pharm. Bull. 28(7) 1270—1274 (2005) Vol. 28, No. 7