Fig. 4.

The effects of AST on microbiota population in nephrectomized rats. Spontaneously hypertensive rats underwent sham nephrectomy (Sham) or 5/6 nephrectomy (Nx) or Nx followed by AST treatment (Nx + AST). a Relative abundance of microbiota based on the average number of each subfamily was measured by T-RFLP analysis. b Populations of Lactobacillus species (left panel) and Bacteroides species (right panel) in the colons were examined by T-RFLP. c Populations of Lactobacillus species (left panel) and Bacteroides species (right panel) in the colons were examined by PCR. ^#P < 0.05 versus Sham; *P < 0.05 versus Nx Sham: N = 9, Nx: N = 8, Nx + AST: N = 8