Sodium butyrate attenuates high-fat diet-induced steatohepatitis in mice by improving gut microbiota and gastrointestinal barrier

Figure 2 Beneficial effects of sodium butyrate on the small intestine. A: HE staining of the small intestine showing that NaB ameliorated HFD-induced mucosal damage; B: Morphometric analysis of villus; C: Immunohistochemistry for ZO-1 showing that NaB increased ZO-1 expression, indicating improvement of the tight junctions of the small intestine; D: ZO-1 mRNA expression in the small intestine. Data represent means ± SEM (n = 12 mice per group), ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 and ^eP < 0.001.