*2.7. Statistical Analysis*

The results are expressed as means ± standard deviation values (*n* = 8 for each group). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey post-hoc test was applied to determine differences among treatments. A significance level of *p* < 0.05 was adopted for all comparisons, and the Statgraphics Centurion XVI.I statistical package (Statpoint Technologies Inc., VA, USA) was used throughout.
