Fig 3.

Berberine repairs cartilage damage in a rat osteoarthritis model. Specimens were longitudinally cut into 3–5 μm sections. (A) Specimens in different treated groups were examined using haematoxylin and eosin staining (original magnification ×200). (B) Specimens in different treated groups were detected using Safranin-O fast green staining (original magnification ×200). (C) Histopathological scores were performed by Mankin's score. (D) The index of matrix production was evaluated by the percentage of red area/total area. The values represent the mean ± SEM of three to five independent experiments, each yielding similar results (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001).