Representative traces (a) and contractile effect (b) of PHE in the presence of L-NAME in SG (○), SG50 (□), SG150 (∆), and SG500 (◊) groups in the rat aorta. The symbols and vertical bars represent the mean and S.E.M., respectively (n = 05 indicates the number of samples per treatment). L-NAME: Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. Sedentary saline group (SG) and sedentary groups supplemented with S. platensis at 50 mg/kg (SG50), 150 mg/kg (SG150), and 500 mg/kg (SG500). Two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's posttest, ∗p < 0.001 (SG vs. SG+L-NAME, SG vs. SG50+L-NAME, SG vs. SG150+L-NAME, SG vs. SG500+L-NAME), #p < 0.01 (SG+L-NAME vs. SG150+L-NAME, SG+L-NAME vs. SG500+L-NAME), †p < 0.01 (SG50+L-NAME vs. SG150+L-NAME, SG50+L-NAME vs. SG500+L-NAME), §p < 0.01 (SG150+L-NAME vs. SG500+L-NAME).