*2.2. Wnt*/β*-Catenin-Dependent Reduction in Infarction and Behavior by LE*

Experimental groups were administered with intra-peritoneal (i.p.) injection of XAV939 to inhibit the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway induced by LE. The control group was administered with DMSO instead of XAV939. The severity of infarction was visible through the unstained areas of the brain as depicted in Figure 2a. The DMSO+Sham+Veh group did not experience notable infarction. Approximately 33% of the left hemisphere of the DMSO+MCAO+Veh group suffered an injury, while a significant decrease in infarction to about 24% was observed in the DMSO+MCAO+LE 20% group (*p* < 0.05, one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test). The XAV939+MCAO+LE 20% failed to protect the brain with approximately 29% infarction volume, which was not significantly different from the DMSO+MCAO+Veh group (*p* > 0.05, one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test) (Figure 2b). All experimental groups suffered a certain degree of infarction except for the DMSO+Sham+Veh group. The DMSO+Sham+Veh group did not experience notable neurological deficits. The DMSO+MCAO+Veh group recorded an average Bederson score of 3. The administration of LE 20% decreased the Bederson score to approximately 2 (*p* < 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test followed by Dunn's post hoc test). The XAV939+MCAO+Veh group achieved an average Bederson score of 3, which was similar to the DMSO+MCAO+Veh group (*p* > 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test) (Figure 2c). The i.p. injection of DMSO did not induce significant differences in the experimental group.
