乳酸菌作为益生菌的主要来源,对宿主健康具有一定的促进作用,尤其是降低胆固醇作用已成为近年来的研究热点。在过去的半个世纪,人们已筛选到多种能降低胆固醇的乳酸菌种属,如乳杆菌属、双歧杆菌属和肠球菌属菌株,并且这些菌株的降胆固醇能力,大部分已通过动物或人体试验证实,但作用机制尚不明晰。文中综述了半个世纪以来乳酸菌降胆固醇机制研究的进展,并针对目前存在的问题加以展望,旨在为乳酸菌的深入研究与开发提供参考。

As a main source of probiotic bacteria,lactic acid bacteria could promote health benefits on the host,such as hypocholesterolemic effect,which was paid more and more attention in recent years.In the past half of century,several strains of genus of lactic acid bacteria,including Lactobacillus,Bifidobacterium,and Enterococcus,were selected for their cholesterol-lowering ability,and confirmed in experimental animals or human volunteers.However,the mechanism of cholesterol-lowering was still not clear to lactic acid bacteria.The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview on the possible mechanisms of cholesterol-lowering effects of lactic acid bacteria,and to describe its future prospects of current problem.It's also a reference of lactic acid bacteria for further research and development.