Figure 3.

Effects of PM on hepatic steatosis in hypercholesterolemic rat. (A) Histological analysis of liver tissue in hypercholesterolemic rats. Liver sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) and examined under a light microscope (n = 8 per group); (B) Scores of hepatic steatosis of hypercholesterolemic rat livers. Scores were determined according to hepatocytes containing lipid droplets (n = 8 per group). Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. Significance was measured by performing a one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s post-hoc test. *** p < 0.005 vs. control. ^## p < 0.01, ^### p < 0.005 vs. HCD-fed group. HCD, high cholesterol diet-fed group; low-, med-, and high-PM: low (1.65 × 10⁹ cfu/kg/day), medium (5.5 × 10⁹ cfu/kg/day), and high doses (1.65 × 10¹⁰ cfu/kg/day) of probiotic mixture-treated group, respectively; Sim, simvastatin; CV, central vein. Scale bar, 50 μm.