Fig. 3.

Confocal microscopy immunofluorescence of VEGF (red) and VEGFR1 (green) in corpus cavernosum of rats. Double-labelling was observed in the muscle layer at the vessel periphery (white arrow) in control (C) (a), green tea (GT) (b) and green tea extract (GTE) (c) groups of animals. An apparent decrease in VEGF expression was observed in the GTE group (c) as compared with the C (a) and GT (b) groups. Double-labelling of VEGFR1 (green) and VEGFR2 (red) demonstrated VEGFR2 expression in the endothelium (white arrow), with a substantial decrease in labelling in the corpus cavernosum of rats from the groups that had consumed catechin-rich beverages (GT and GTE) (e and f, respectively) when compared to C animals (d). Bar 100 μm