Alpha and beta diversity of gut microbiota in MCAO rats.

(A) Comparison of alpha diversity between the gut microbiota of four groups of rats. Seven indices were used to evaluate the alpha diversity (Chao1, Observed species, Shannon, Simpson, Faith’s PD, Pielou’s evenness, and Good’s coverage). (B) Unweighted UniFrac-based principal coordinate analysis showing the gut microbiota composition among the Ctrl, Sham, Model, and SHD groups. (C) Nonmetric multidimensional scaling based on Bray-Curtis metrics showing the gut microbiota composition among the Ctrl, Sham, Model, and SHD groups (n = 6). Statistical significance was considered at * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, and *** P < 0.001.