Figure 3. Histology of liver cirrhosis, hepatic hydroxyproline, spleen weight and portal pressure in the prevention experiment.

Representative illustrations (200 × magnification) of Masson-stained liver sections were taken from healthy controls (A), or rats treated with CCl₄ + saline (B), CCl₄ + NaHS (C) or CCl₄ + PAG (D), for 12 weeks. (E) The numbers of blue pixels of each image of the above Masson-stained liver sections were counted, and the average number of blue pixels for each liver was calculated. (F) The level of hydroxyproline in livers taken from the above rats was measured. (G) Each spleen was weighed as % of bodyweight. (H) The portal pressure of each was measured. Data were expressed mean ± SD. n, number of samples. Compared to the healthy controls, a significant difference is denoted by “*”, and a highly significant difference, by “**” (P<0.001). Compared to saline + CCl₄-treated rats, a significant increase is denoted by “‡”, and a significant reduction is denoted by “#”.