2.1. Reagents
All chemicals were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Madrid, Spain), unless otherwise stated.
2.2 Preparation and administration of L. fermentum CECT5716
The probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 was provided by Biosearch, S.A. (Granada, Spain) and grown in De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) media for a period of 24 h at 37 °C under anaerobic conditions using the Anaerogen system (Oxoid, Basingstoke, UK). For probiotic treatment, it was suspended using a sterile PBS solution and was diluted to obtain a concentration of 5 × 109 CFUs in 1 ml.