Fig. 2

Effects of OCP on body mass. The effects of Opuntia cladode powders (OCP) were evaluated in HFD-fed rats supplemented with 0.5% O. streptacantha and O. ficus-indica, respectively (F-OSC, F-OFI), compared with OCP-untreated controls (F). Group SD received a standard diet. a Body mass evolution was recorded weekly over 8 weeks. An average of the body weight of each group is expressed by mean ± SEM. b The body mass gain was calculated for each animal as the difference of its body mass between the start (day 0) and end (day 60) of the experiment. Data represent mean ± SEM from each group. c The food intake was recorded for each animal over 8 weeks. All data represent mean ± SEM. Each group was composed of 10 rats. Statistical analyses involved ANOVA, followed by Newman–Keuls post hoc test. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.005 indicates significant difference from group SD; ^§p < 0.05 denotes significant difference from group F