Fig. 1

a, b, c Quantification by qPCR of the genera Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, and Clostridium from fecal samples of climacteric women. Nonparametric data were performed by the Kruskal–Wallis test for multiple comparisons. The number of copies of bacterial DNA was obtained for each 15 mg of feces. a) Reproductive group n = 18 significant difference between the amount found in Bifidobacterium compared to Lactobacillus and Clostridium genera, Bacteroides compared to Lactobacillus and diference also found between Lactobacillus compared to Clostridium. b) Premenopause n = 26 significant difference observed between the amount of Bifidobacterium versus Lactobacillus and Clostridium, Bacteroides versus Lactobacillus and the genera Lactobacillus versus Clostridium. c) Postmenopause n = 58 Statistical difference found between all bacterial genera analyzed. p < 0,05 was considered statistically significant