Figure 5.

Effect of stigmasterol on inflammatory collagen deposition. Guinea pigs were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin as described in the methods. Animals received either saline, dexamethasone, or stigmasterol 1 h prior to each challenge. Naïve controls received normal saline only. Animals were sacrificed 24 h after the last ovalbumin challenge. The lungs were excised, fixed, and embedded in paraffin. 3 μm sections were stained with Masson's trichrome solution to assess collagen deposition in naïve (a), saline (b), and dexamethasone (c) and 10, 50, and 100 mg/kg stigmasterol-treated animals (d–f). Morphometric analysis was performed to quantify the extent of collagen deposition (g). Data is expressed as mean collagen deposition index ± SEM (n = 5). ^∗∗∗P < 0.001 and ^∗∗P < 0.01 as compared to the saline-treated group and ^###P < 0.001 as compared to the naïve group using one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnet's post hoc test.