In vitro Cholesterol Assimilation by Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (BPL1) Probiotic Bacteria Under Intestinal Conditions.

Background: Hypercholesterolemia is one of the principal causes of the development of cardiovascular diseases. Recently, probiotics consumption has also been proposed as a non-pharmacological intervention to control cholesterol concentrations.

Objective: To evaluate in vitro assimilation of cholesterol by Bifidobacterium animalis subsp.

Balneotherapy, Immune System, and Stress Response: A Hormetic Strategy?

Balneotherapy is a clinically effective complementary approach in the treatment of low-grade inflammation- and stress-related pathologies. The biological mechanisms by which immersion in mineral-medicinal water and the application of mud alleviate symptoms of several pathologies are still not completely understood, but it is known that neuroendocrine and immunological responses—including both humoral and cell-mediated immunity—to balneotherapy are involved in these mechanisms of effectiveness; leading to anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, chondroprotective, and anabolic effects together with neuroendocrine-immune regulation in different conditions. Hormesis can play a critical role in all these biological effects and mechanisms of effectiveness.