The cholesterol lowering effect of vegetables fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum HY7712 was evaluated in rats fed high fat/high cholesterol diet. SD Rats were randomly divided into three groups, then fed a normal diet (ND), a highfat high-cholesterol diet (HFCD), or HFCD and vegetables fermented by HY7712 (VFLAB) for 5 weeks, and the biomarkers in the blood, liver, and feces of rats were measured. Antioxidant status such as SOD, CAT, GSH/GSSG, and MDA was significantly deteriorated in HFCD compared with ND (p<0.01) but was improved in VFLAB to the level of ND. In addition, the level of MDA in VFLAB was significantly decreased in comparison with HFCD (p<0.05). Total cholesterol, LDLcholesterol, and atherogenic index (AI) were significantly increased in HFCD, but significantly decreased in VFLAB (p<0.05). In addition, administration of a HFCD diet increased the fecal bile acid in rats and the concentration of fecal bile acid was higher in VFLAB than in HFCD. In conclusion, the vegetables fermented by L. plantarum HY7712 improved antioxidant status and hypercholesterolemia induced by HFCD diet, which may be due to the synergic effect of lactic acid bacteria and fermented vegetables.

Lilium lancifolium (LL) is widely cultivated in East Asia and used to attenuate airway diseases. Our current study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of LL on pain level and inflammatory response in a rat model of monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis (OA). We first examined the effect of LL on inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators in IL-1β-treated HTB-94 cells. The LL extract was found to significantly inhibit the levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-8 (IL-8), and prostaglandin-E2 (PGE-2) in Interleukin-1 β (IL-1β)-stimulated HTB-94 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, chronic oral administration of LL effectively restored the weight-bearing distribution in the rat model of MIA-induced OA. In addition, administration of LL inhibited inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, leukotriene B4 (LTB-4), PGE-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). Our findings collectively suggested LL as one of the potential therapeutic agents for OA, owing to its properties of reducing pain and inflammatory responses.