Fig. 1: The beneficial effects of quercetin on atherosclerosis are microbiome-dependent.
From: Gut microbes modulate the effects of the flavonoid quercetin on atherosclerosis
A Experimental design. B Plasma lipid profiles (n = 17 in the ConvR/high-MAC group, n = 12 in the ConvR/high-MAC + Q group, n = 11 in the GF/high-MAC group, and n = 8 in the GF/high-MAC + Q group). C–F Representative sections and quantitative analyses of Oil Red O staining (C, D; n = 17 in the ConvR/high-MAC group, n = 12 in the ConvR/high-MAC + Q group, n = 11 in the GF/high-MAC group, and n = 8 in the GF/high-MAC + Q group), MOMA-2 staining (C, E; n = 8 in the ConvR/high-MAC group, n = 12 in the ConvR/high-MAC + Q group, n = 11 in the GF/high-MAC group, and n = 8 in the GF/high-MAC + Q group), and Masson’s trichrome staining (C, F; n = 8 in the ConvR/high-MAC group, n = 12 in the ConvR/high-MAC + Q group, n = 11 in the GF/high-MAC group, and n = 8 in the GF/high-MAC + Q group) in the aortic sinus. The data were expressed as box-and-whisker plots, where the boxes indicate the median values and the interquartile ranges and the whiskers represent the minimum and maximum values. Significance was calculated by two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-tests as follows: *P value of <0.05; ***P value of <0.001. MAC microbiota-accessible carbohydrates, ApoE Apolipoprotein E, ConvR conventionally raised, GF germ-free, Q quercetin, MOMA monocytes and macrophages.
