Figure 2: L. plantarum prevents ethanol-induced alteration of the intestinal microbiome population.

Adult female mice were fed a liquid diet with ethanol (EF) or isocaloric maltodextrin (PF) with or without L. plantarum (10⁶ CFU/ml) (LP). Bacterial 16S RNA extracted from colonic fecal samples was subjected to qPCR for Firmicutes (A) and Bacteroidetes (B). Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratios were calculated (C). Values are means ± SEM (n = 6). Asterisks indicate the “EF” values that are significantly (p-value < 0.05) different from corresponding “PF” values, and the hashtags indicate the “EF+LP” values that are different from corresponding “EF” values.