Figure 2.

Nuciferine treatment improved the hepatic steatosis. (A, B) H&E staining revealed enlarged hepatocytes in the experimental model group and the nuciferine-treated rats showed only moderate steatosis and ballooning in the liver as well as a lower NAS. Black arrows indicate the steatosis of hepatocytes, red arrows indicate lobular inflammation, and yellow arrows indicate hepatocyte ballooning (200× magnification). (C, D) Oil Red O staining indicated that the lipid-loaded hepatocytes and the MOD of staining extents were decreased in the nuciferine-treated rats as compared to the experimental model group (200× magnification). Control, experimental model, and nuciferine-treated (n = 10 per group) groups. ^##p < 0.01 as compared to the control group; **p < 0.01 as compared to the experimental model group.