Fig. 1

Ethyl pyruvate can improve cognitive dysfunction in septic mice. a Strategy of experiment. Eight-week-old male C57BL/6 J mice were subjected to CLP Operation, followed by the intervention of EP (40 mg/kg) or vehicle (PBS) once every 2 days during the infection period. b Traveled distance of the shamed or the septic mice treated with EP (40 mg/kg) or vehicle (PBS) in the open field test. c The preference indices of the four groups of mice in the training stage of novel object recognition test. d The preference indices of the four groups of mice in the testing stage of novel object recognition test e The escaped latency to platform of the four groups of mice during the training (the 15th to 18th days after surgery). f, g and h showing Total distance traveled, numbers of crossings through the platform area, and time percent spent in the target quadrant in probe trail, respectively. Data are presented as mean ± standard error of mean (SEM) (n ≥ 10 mice/ group) and compared by one-way ANOVA and post-hoc test. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01