Figure 5.

Cranberry polyphenols and agavins improved colonic mucus thickness and mucin-secreting goblet cell number, and also reduced circulating levels of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein in HFHS-diet induced obese mice. (A) The effect of HFHS-diet (HF) and the supplementation with cranberry polyphenols (CP), agavins (AG), and CP+AG were studied in representative histological images of the colon tissues of mice. A combination of Alcian Blue and periodic acid–Schiff staining (AB/PAS) was used to distinguish acidic (dark blue) and neutral (red) mucins. A purple color indicates the presence of both acidic and neutral mucins. Images shown are representatives of examined mice (n = 12) in each group. Images were taken using objective lens UPLSAPO 20×/0.75, magnification 12.6×, scale 50 μm. Histological parameters were evaluated in cross sections of colon tissues stained with AB/PAS staining: (B) mucus thickness (μm); (C) total goblet cell (GC) number per μm of crypt; (D) crypt depth (μm). (E) Plasma LPS (EU/mL); (F) plasma LBP (ng/ml). Ordinary one-way ANOVA with a Dunnett’s multiple-comparison test (post-hoc test) was employed to calculate the significance of the differences between groups. Boxplots represent the distribution of data with the mean represented by the mark “+” within the boxes, the median represented by the dark horizontal line and interquartile range by the box, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, as compared to HFHS-control group. ^#p < 0.05 and ^####p < 0.0001 chow-control group versus HFHS-control group.