The aim of this study was the determination of some factors influence (i.e. the vitality of bacteria cells and the cholesterol concentration) on the ability of selected Lactobacillus sp. to cholesterol uptake during culture in MRS broth. Three Lactobacillus strains (Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lb. acidophilus, Lb. casei) isolated from commercial single species lyophilized dairy starter cultures and three Lactobacillus strains (Lb. plantarum, Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lb. acidophilus) originated from commercial pharmaceuticals were used in this study. The uptake of cholesterol from MRS broth during the growth of Lactobacillus sp., expressed as the difference between the final and the initial concentrations of cholesterol, ranged from 0.053 to 0.153 g/dm³, apart from the initial cholesterol content and the origin of Lactobacillus sp. The results confirmed that biomass concentration have a statistically significant effect on uptake of cholesterol. The ten-fold increase of the amount of intact cells biomass caused about 1.5-2-fold increase of the amount of cholesterol removed. The influence of the concentration of biomass of alive cells on the removal of cholesterol was bigger than in case of the heat-sterilized cells.

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