Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 changes lipidemic profile and gut microbiota in a hamster hypercholesterolemic model

Hypercholesterolemia is a main risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Probiotics are a safe approach to reduce elevated cholesterol without any deleterious effect to human health.Saccharomyces boulardiiCNCM I-745 probiotic properties are well documented in a context of intestinal dysbiosis. Recentin vitroand preclinical studies have suggested its potential effects on dyslipidemia. This is the first controlled study investigating the effects ofS. boulardiiCNCM I-745 on lipidemic profile and gut microbiota in a hamster hypercholesterolemic model. Daily administration (3 g/kg) ofS. boulardiifor 21 or 39 days in hamsters fed a 0.3% cholesterol-diet significantly reduced total plasma cholesterol (P<0.001) and increased faecal total cholesterol (P<0.05) compared to vehicle-treated animals.S. boulardiisignificantly modified the gut microbiota composition of the hamster fed a 0.3% cholesterol-diet. These microbial abundancy modifications of the microbiota were correlated to variations of lipidemic values or liver genes expressions. In particularly we found that abundance of g_Allobaculum, the most modified taxon afterS. boulardiitreatment (+236%;P<0.05), was correlated to variations in plasmatic lipoproteins level andABCG5hepatic gene expression. We also observed a not previously described correlation between the levels of g_Oxalobacterin the gut microbiota and total cholesterol plasma concentration. In conclusion, we confirmed the cholesterol-lowering effects ofS. boulardiiintake and we demonstrated for the first time theS. boulardiieffect on gut microbiota in the context of hypercholesterolemia in hamsters. Our results provide new insights for a beneficial and safe approach of hypercholesterolemia treatment and could be considered for clinical development, alone or in addition to conventional treatment.