4.2. Animals

We obtained male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats from TBRI, aged seven weeks and weighing 180–200 g. The rats were given a two-week period to acclimate to the laboratory before the commencement of the experiment. They were kept in controlled environmental conditions since birth, with a temperature of 22 ± 2 °C, a relative humidity of 50 ± 10%, and a 12 h light/dark cycle (lights on from 09:00 a.m. to 09:00 p.m.). The rats were provided with ad libitum feeding and drinking. The protocol was approved by the IACUC at FPDU under FPDU24120,2. All animals were treated and sacrificed according to the corresponding guidelines.