Figures & data
Figure 1. Experimental schedule of DOCA-salt-induced hypertension and vascular dementia. BP: blood pressure; DOCA-salt: deoxycorticosterone acetate and salt solution; NTU101F: ethanol extract of L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101-fermented products.
Table 1. The effect of ethanol extract of L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101-fermented product on arterial blood pressure in rats with hypertension-induced vascular dementia.
Figure 2. The effect of ethanol extract of L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101-fermented products on kidney function in rats with hypertension-induced vascular dementia. (A) Plasma aldosterone levels. (B) Representative images of the kidney. (C) Kidney weight relative to body weight (BW). NC: normal rats; DOCA-salt: rats receiving subcutaneous injection of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA, 25 mg/kg BW/day), and 1.0% NaCl and 0.2% KCl in drinking water; NTU101F 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0: DOCA-salt rats treated with 11, 22, and 110 mg/kg BW/day, respectively, of ethanol extract of NTU 101-fermented products. The data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 6). ***p < 0.001 versus DOCA-salt according to Duncan’s multiple range test.
Figure 3. The effect of ethanol extract of L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101-fermented products on kidney structure in rats with hypertension-induced vascular dementia. (A–E) Hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections of the kidneys from rats treated with saline (A), DOCA-salt (B), NTU101F 0.5 (c), NTU101F 1.0 (D), and NTU101F 5.0 (E). (F–J) Masson’s trichrome-stained sections demonstrating collagen deposition (blue) in the kidneys from control (F), DOCA-salt (g), NTU101F 0.5 (H), NTU101F 1.0 (I), and NTU101F 5.0 (J) rats. Arrows and # mark inflammation and fibrosis, respectively (magnification, ×400). The meaning of abbreviations was shown in Figure. 1.
Table 2. Pathological scores of the kidneys from rats with hypertension-induced vascular dementia.
Figure 4. The effect of the ethanol extract of L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101-fermented products on the aorta of rats with hypertension-induced vascular dementia. (A–E) Elastin expression in the aorta from rats treated with saline (A), DOCA-salt (B), NTU101F 0.5 (C), NTU101F 1.0 (D), and NTU101F 5.0 (E). The number of elastin bands (F), eNOS density (G), nitrate plus nitrite level (H), and bradykinin (I). Magnification, × 100. The meaning of abbreviations was shown in . The data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 6). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 versus DOCA-salt according to Duncan’s multiple range test.
Figure 5. The effect of ethanol extract of L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101-fermented products on memory and learning ability of rats with hypertension-induced vascular dementia. (A) Reference memory task, (B) probe test locus (C) probe test, and (D) working memory task. The meaning of abbreviations was shown in Figure 1. The data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 6). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 versus DOCA-salt and #p < 0.05 versus NC according to Duncan’s multiple range test.
Figure 6. The effect of ethanol extract of L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101-fermented products on the brain body weight ratio (A), MMP-9 activity (B), and on the activity of antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation, and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus of rats with hypertension-induced vascular dementia. (C–E) Enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase (C), catalase (D), and glutathione peroxidase (E). The levels of malonyldialdehyde (F), IL-1β (G), and IL-6 (H). The meaning of abbreviations was shown in The data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 6). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 versus DOCA-salt according to Duncan’s multiple range test.
Figure 7. Proposed mechanism of ethanol extract of L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101-fermented products effect on rats with hypertension-induced vascular dementia.
