Figure 5.

L. Mix treatment increased the SCFAs propionate and acetate in the gut. Ten-week-old male mice were treated with either vehicle (veh) or a mixture of three lactobacilli (L. Mix) for 6 weeks, starting 2 weeks before orchiectomy (orx) or sham surgery. At the end of the study, we measured cecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) propionate (A), acetate (B), butyrate (C) and intermediates in SCFAs production succinate (D) and lactate (E). Symbols in the scatter plots represent individual mice and the bars indicate mean ± s.e.m. (n = 13–15). The overall effects of treatment (Veh/L. Mix), surgical procedure (sham/orx) and their interaction were calculated using two-way ANOVA, NS, not significant. The effect of L. Mix compared to veh treatment in sham and orx mice, respectively, was calculated by Sidak’s post hoc test to correct for multiple comparisons, **P ≤ 0.01 and *P ≤ 0.05.