Figure 4 Effect of probiotic treatment on intestinal epithelial hyperplasia. Rats from both basal (control) and probiotic diet groups were subjected to either water avoidance stress (WAS) or sham stress for 10 days, for one hour/day. Quantitative analysis of villus height (A) and crypt depth (B) in rats from control, probiotic, WAS, and probiotic + WAS study groups. Epithelial cell hyperplasia was not observed in either ileum or colon tissues obtained from all four groups of rats (minimum four rats/group, 2–4 sections/rat). Results are presented as mean (SEM); ANOVA p>0.05.