FIG 1.
Protective effects of the synbiotic against infection in a mouse model of intestinal MDRAb infection. KM, CTM, LOM, MTN, and IPM were administered (orally or intraperitoneally) to mice (48 mice/group) from day −7 until day 28. Mice were infected orally with MDRAb (1 × 104 to 2 × 104 CFU/mouse) on day 0. B. breve strain Yakult (BbY; 1 × 108 to 2 × 108 CFU/mouse/day) and/or galactooligosaccharides (GOS; 10 mg/mouse/day) were administered orally once daily from day −7 until day 28. On day 4 after the MDRAb infection, animals were injected intraperitoneally with 5-FU at a dose of 400 mg/kg of body weight. Thirty mice out of 48 mice per group (saline-treated infected control, BbY, GOS, or BbY plus GOS) were observed for body weight (b) and survival (c) (28 days after the MDRAb challenge), and the other 18 mice from each group were assessed by bacteriological analysis; the counts of viable MDRAb (a) and BbY (d) were determined using selective media. Results are expressed as means ± SD for the log10 CFU per gram of feces. The same experiment was repeated three times in total. Symbols: ●, saline-treated infected control; □, BbY; ○, GOS; △, BbY plus GOS. Where indicated, significant differences (*, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001) were observed between mice treated with the experimental agents and saline-treated infected control mice.