Fig. 1

Improvement by PA intervention of spatial learning and memory and intestinal histology after iron overload. A Study design. The animals were randomly separated into four groups (n = 10 per group) 8 weeks after birth. The FD, PA, BN groups received the HFe diet for 60 days, whereas the NS group received a normal diet. B Body weights of NS, FD and probiotic-treated mice during the experimental protocol (10 mice per group). One-way ANOVA with post-hoc LSD test was used for significance. C Representative histological images of colon tissue from the NS control group and FD, PA and BN-treated mice by H&E staining of colon samples. The red arrows represent the muscular layer with inflammatory lymphatic infiltration. D Trajectory map of mice entering the Barnes mazes during the positioning navigation test. The green circle represents the final escape box, and the green line represents the entire escape path of the mouse. E Evasion latency of mice in positioning navigation experiments over 7 consecutive days of experimentation. Each point represents the mean escape time for each group. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc LSD test was used for significance. F Distance travelled by the mice (10 mice per group) on the last day of the experiment (day 7) to locate the escape box. Each point represents the total distance the mouse navigated. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc LSD test was used for significance. G Trajectory map of mice entering the Y-maze after novel arm opening. The red rectangle represents the start arm area, the yellow represents the novel arm area, and the green line represents the mouse exploration path. H Total distances that the mice (10 mice per group) explored after novel arm entry. Each point represents the total distance each mouse navigated. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc LSD test was used for significance. I Total number of times that mice (10 mice per group) entered the novel arm during the exploration period. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc LSD test was used for significance. J Total time spent by the mice (10 mice per group) in the novel arm during Y-maze exploration. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc LSD test was used for significance. K The percent of right choices in mice(10 mice per group) during Y-maze exploration. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc LSD test was used for significance. All data are means ± SEM. Statistical significance vs. the vehicle-only treatment group. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001