BIFISTEROL Junior

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the major health issues with a high mortality rate (~17.7 million deaths/year, which rose by 12.5% since 2005) [1]. Epidemiological studies confirmed the correlation between total cholesterol (TC) with increased cardiovascular risk [2]. BIFISTEROL® Junior contains three Bifidobacterium strains specifically isolated and studied for their cholesterol-lowering effects which has been confirmed by in vitro, preclinical and clinical studies [3-5]. The strains activity on cholesterol levels can be partially ascribed to:

• BSH (Bile Salts Hydrolyses) activity, which results in deconjugation of bile salts that are less efficiently reabsorbed than their conjugated counterparts. Deconjugation of bile salts can co-adjuvate for reduction in serum cholesterol either by increasing the demand for cholesterol for de novo synthesis of bile acids or by reducing cholesterol solubility and thereby absorption of cholesterol throughout the intestinal lumen.

• Binding of cholesterol to the bacterial cell walls that can’t be reabsorbed and is lost through feces.

• Moreover, B. longum 04 is a strong converter of linoleic acid (LA) into conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) [6]. CLA has been found to be effective in regulating cholesterol homeostasis, contrasting atherosclerotic damages, and maintaining cardiovascular function, reducing body fat, and positively affecting blood lipids in animals and in vitro models.

In a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled RCT [5], a 3 months supplementation of BIFISTEROL® Junior was effective in improving the lipidic profile in children with dyslipidemia compared to placebo. Indeed, BIFISTEROL® Junior reduced total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).