摘要：Cholesterol is mainly synthesized in the body and to a lesser extent, absorbed in the intestine from the food. A high serum cholesterol level increase the rink of coronary heart disease with some other disturbances. Today, it has been accepted that some fermented milk products have a significant role in reducing cholesterol. Previous studies showed that yoghurt can posses a hypocholestremic effect and different results were obtained about the origin of it. Later, it has been reported that various fermented milk products have different effect on the cholesterol concentration and the reason for this may be the use of particular strains of bacteria in their manufacture. Recently, intestinal microflora especially some strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus are considered to have a decreasing effect on the level of serum cholesterol of the body. Cholesterol either be synthesized or taken by the diet partially converts to the bile acids. Selected strains of some intestinal bacteria have the ability to deconjugate of bile acids. These deconjugated bile salts are removed from the body with the feces. This decrease in bile concentration will be compensated for by the catabolism of cholesterol to bile acids, thus reducing the total cholesterol concentration. On the other hand, the deconjugated bile acids absorb lipids poorly from the intestinal tract as compared to conjugated acids. This could result in a reduction in absorption of cholesterol from the intestine. So, supplementation of the diet with cultured dairy foods produced by bacteria strains having the ability of deconjugation provides a significant benefit for hypercholesterolemic individuals.
