Fig. 6

Effects of synbiotic mixture of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans on the percentage of apoptosis intestinal epithelial cells by the TUNEL assay, and relative levels of apoptosis-related protein in intestinal mucosa in weaned piglets challenged with LPS. Representative TUNEL stained paraffin sections from jejunum (A1–4) and ileum (B1–4) tissue. B Effects of synbiotic mixture of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans on the percentage of jejunal and ileal apoptosis ratio in piglets challenged with LPS. C Effects of synbiotic mixture of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans on relative protein expression levels related to apoptosis in jejunum and ileum of piglets challenged with LPS. Each column represents the mean values (n = 6), with their standard error of mean (SEM) represented by vertical bars. Letters above the bars not sharing the same lower (P < 0.05) or upper (P < 0.01) case superscript are significantly different. CON_-saline (negative control), basal diet; LPS_-LPS (positive control), basal diet; CTC_-LPS, basal diet + CTC (75 mg/kg); and SYN_-LPS, basal diet + synbiotic mixture of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans