Figure 1.

Histopathological changes in the liver fibrosis in vivo model. (A) Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to examine pathological changes in the rat liver tissue samples of the control, TAA and puerarin/TAA group. The black arrows highlight degeneration and necrosis of liver cells as well as the formation of fibrous septum tissue. (B) Van Gieson's staining was used to examine the presence of collagen type I in the rat liver tissue samples. Scale bar, 50 µm. (C) Liver hydroxyproline content was examined. (D) Relative protein expression levels of collagen type I and fibronectin were determined by western blot analysis in rat liver tissue samples. β-actin was used as the loading control (n=12). *P<0.05 vs. the control group. ^#P<0.05 vs. the TAA group. TAA, thioacetamide.