Probiotics are prospective for the prevention and treatment of
cardiovascular diseases. Until now, systematic studies on the amelioration of
hypercholesterolemia have been rare in terms of (
cholesterol metabolism and transportation, reshaping of gut microbiota, as well as yielding SCFAs) intervention with lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In this study, strains of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, WLPL21, WLPL72, and ZDY04, from fermented food and two combinations (Enterococcus faecium WEFA23 with L. plantarum WLPL21 and WLPL72) were compared for their effect on
hypercholesterolemia. Comprehensively, with regard to the above aspects, L. plantarum WLPL21 showed the best mitigatory effect among all groups, which was revealed by decreasing total
cholesterol (TC) and
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (
LDL-C) levels, upregulated
cholesterol metabolism (Cyp27a1, Cyp7b1, Cyp7a1, and
Cyp8b1) levels in the liver,
cholesterol transportation (Abca1, Abcg5, and Abcg8) in the ileum or liver, and downregulated Npc1l1. Moreover, it reshaped the constitution of gut microbiota; specifically, the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F/B) was downregulated; the relative abundance of Allobaculum, Blautia, and Lactobacillus was upregulated by 7.48-14.82-fold; and that of Lachnoclostridium and Desulfovibrio was then downregulated by 69.95% and 60.66%, respectively. In conclusion, L. plantarum WLPL21 improved
cholesterol metabolism and transportation, as well as the abundance of gut microbiota, for alleviating high-
cholesterol-diet-induced
hypercholesterolemia.