Figure 1.

Serum SCFA levels in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy controls (HCs). (A, B) Total amount of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and acetate levels were lower in MS patients compared with HCs. (C–G) Propionate, butyrate, valerate, isobutyrate and isovalerate did not differ significantly between MS and HCs, by Mann Whitney U test. *p<0.05. Boxplots display median, inter quartile range, minimum and maximum. Each dot represents an individual value. Similar results were obtained when adjusting for sex, age, BMI, smoking status, probiotics and dietary pattern in an ANCOVA test. However, after adjustment for multiple testing all q values became non-significant, q>0.05. SCFAs: short-chain fatty acids, ns., non-significant.