Overall, the evidence suggests a small beneficial effect of Lactobacillus plantarum supplementation on reducing blood cholesterol. Across 4 studies, 3 reported beneficial effects (2 with statistically significant findings), while 1 neutral study showed no significant change. Effects were predominantly small, and no consistent dose, form, or population was reported across studies.
Caveats: Available evidence is overwhelmingly positive — clinical literature in this area is subject to publication bias (null-result studies are less likely to be published or indexed). Evidence base is small (only 4 studies) — conclusions should be considered preliminary. One neutral meta-analysis focused on patients with T2DM and prediabetes, suggesting the effect may be weaker or absent in certain clinical populations.
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)