Figures (6)  Tables (0)

    • Figure 1. 

      Effect of oral administration of EWH or OD-EWH (at a dose of 1 g/kg BW/d) on blood pressure and heart rate in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Blood pressure and heart rate at each time point represented the mean values recorded over a 24-h period. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM from n = 6 animals per group. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, compared to the untreated group at a specific time point; # p < 0.05, ## p < 0.01, ### p < 0.001, ns, not significant (p > 0.05), compared to the untreated group over 9 days. Abbreviations: DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HR, heart rate; MAP, mean arterial pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure.

    • Figure 2. 

      Effect of oral administration of EWH or OD-EWH (at a dose of 1 g/kg BW/d) on the levels of renin–angiotensin system (RAS) components in the aorta. Vascular levels of (a) ACE2, (b) MasR, (c) AT2R, (d) AT1R, and (e) ACE were normalized to GAPDH and were then normalized to that of the untreated group. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM from four to six animals per group. * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001, compared to the untreated group.

    • Figure 3. 

      Effect of oral administration of EWH or OD-EWH (at a dose of 1 g/kg BW/d) on the levels of renin–angiotensin system (RAS) components in the kidney. The protein levels of (a) ACE2, (b) MasR, (c) AT2R, (d) AT1R, and (e) ACE were normalized to GAPDH and were then normalized to that of the untreated group. Data represented as mean ± SEM from four to six animals per group. * p < 0.05, compared to the untreated group.

    • Figure 4. 

      Effect of oral administration of EWH or OD-EWH (at a dose of 1 g/kg BW/d) on the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) level in the aorta. Vascular protein level of eNOS expression was normalized to GAPDH and was then normalized to that of the untreated group. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM from four to six animals per group. * p < 0.05, compared to the untreated group.

    • Figure 5. 

      Effect of oral administration of EWH or OD-EWH (at a dose of 1 g/kg BW/d) on nitrotyrosine level in the aorta. Representative fluorescence images of aortic sections indicate nitrotyrosine level. The level of nitrotyrosine was normalized to tissue without primary antibody treatment (background fluorescence) and the fluorescence signal strength was expressed as the percentage relative to the untreated group. Data represented as mean ± SEM from four to six animals per group. * p < 0.05 and ** p < 0.01, compared to the untreated group.

    • Figure 6. 

      Effect of oral administration of EWH or OD-EWH (at a dose of 1 g/kg BW/d) on the levels of inflammatory proteins in the aorta. (a) Vascular levels of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), (b) intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), (c) vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and (d) inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were normalized to GAPDH and were then normalized to that of the untreated group. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM from four to six animals per group. *p < 0.05, compared to the untreated group.