Across 4 meta-analyses/reviews, 3 reported small beneficial effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on total cholesterol reduction, with 3 reaching statistical significance. One study in patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes found a non-significant tendency. The predominant effect size is small, and the evidence base is limited to review-level analyses without consistent dose or form data.
Caveats: Evidence is based on meta-analyses of varying quality; one study in patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes found no significant effect, suggesting potential population-specific differences. No consistent dose or form information was available across studies. Effect sizes were small, and clinical significance may be modest.
While generally safe in healthy populations, rare adverse events (bacteremia, D-lactic acidosis, horizontal gene transfer) have been reported in immunocompromised or critically ill individuals, underscoring the need for individualized risk-benefit assessments and rigorous adverse-event surveillance.
from: Molecular Pathways and Clinical Applications of Probiotics as Effective Supporters of InteSubgroup analysis of trials found significantly reduction of TC using L. plantarum
L. plantarum supplementation significantly reduced TC (SMD: -0.233; 95% CI: -0.458, -0.008; p = 0.042)
A non-statistically significant tendency towards improvements in total cholesterol (MD: -4.88; 95%CI: -11.84, 2.07 mg/dL; n = 3)
Meta-analyses of 30+ RCTs demonstrate that probiotic supplementation (notably L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, B. longum) lowers total and LDL cholesterol (-7 to -10 mg/dL)