Figure 3.

Effect of XNJ on the expression of activated caspase 3 in neonatal striatum. (A) Activated caspase 3-positive cells are stained brown and can be observed in the area surrounding the striatum. Low-magnification (4X) images show transverse hemisections from the striatum of seven-day-old rats in the (Aa) control group, (Ab) sevo group and (Ac) sevo pre-treatment with 10 ml/kg XNJ (scale bar, 10 mm). Enlarged images (10X) showed the boxed region of striatum in (Ad) the control group, (Ae) sevo group and (Af) sevo plus pre-treatment with 10 ml/kg XNJ (scale bar, 4 mm). (B) Average activated caspase 3 positive cells/cm² in the striatum were counted. Quantitative data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation (n=5). ^*P<0.05. XNJ, Xingnaojing; Sevo, sevoflurane.