Abstract:

Bile salt hydrolase is an enzyme found in in vivo or in vitro investigations on some lactic acid bacteria and also found in relevant products, and has the ability to reduce cholesterol in media and serum. The enzyme breaks the acyl bond between the amino acid group and the central group in steroid to release deconjugated bile acid. Solubility of deconjugated bile salts is lower than that of conjugated bile salts so that the deconjugated bile salts are hard to be absorbed in the intestinal tract and are the secreted in feces. Physiological characteristics and molecular biological information of bile salt hydrolase are reviewed in this paper, which will provide a reference for future studies.

Key words: lactic acid bacteria, bile salt hydrolase, cholesterol