Table 4.

Concentration-response curves to acetylcholine (Ach) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on aortic rings from the three studied groups. Relaxation is expressed as a percentage of the contraction in response to noradrenaline.

Experimental groups	Ach pD2	Ach Emax (%)	SNP pD2	SNP Emax (%)
SD	7.06 ± 0.13	46 ± 3	7.83 ± 0.05	86 ± 2
HFD	7.46 ± 0.07*	69 ± 4*	8.30 ± 0.06*	93 ± 2*
HFD+Bif	7.29 ± 0.11	57± 5#	8.46 ± 0.07*	93 ± 1*

SD group: control mice receiving a standard diet; HFD group: obese mice receiving a high-fat diet; HFD+Bif group: obese mice receiving HFD and a daily dose of 1 x 10⁹ CFU B. pseudocatenulatum CECT 7765 by gavage during 14 weeks. pD₂, -log mol/L of substance causing 50% of the maximal contraction; Emax, maximal contraction. Data are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean of each mouse group (n = 8 per group).

Significant differences were established by ANOVA and post hoc Bonferroni's test at *p < 0.05 versus SD group and ^#p < 0.05 versus HFD group.