Fig. 8

Long-term SCFA supplementation improves depressive-like behaviors and spatial memory after BCCAO. A, B Timeline of the experiment. C Sucrose preference test. D–I Open-field test: D The total distance traveled by rats in the open field. E The frequency of grid-crossing. F The mean traveling speed. G Time spent in the outer area. H Distance traveled in the outer area. I Representative traces in the open-field test (Circle dot: start position; square dot: end position). J, K Duration of immobility and representative traces in the tail suspension test (J) and forced swim test (K). L–N Morris water maze test: L Time spent in and M frequency of entries into the quadrant where the platform was previously located. N Representative traces in the spatial probe test (the platform was previously located in the center of quadrant IV). Circle dot: start position; square dot: end position). S+NaCl, sham rats treated with sodium chloride (NaCl). S+SCFA, sham rats that received short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) supplementation. B+NaCl, BCCAO rats treated with NaCl. B+SCFA, BCCAO rats received SCFAs supplementation. The data represent the mean ± SEM (n = 8 S+NaCl and S+SCFA, n = 12 B+NaCl and B+SCFA). p < 0.05 was set as the threshold for significance. ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 compared to the S+NaCl group. ^&&p < 0.01 compared to the S+SCFA group. ^#p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01 compared to the B+NaCl group