Saffron and Calculus bovis combination exerts anti-hepatic fibrotic effect in liver fibrosis rats via the mitogen-activated protein kinases pathway

Figure 1 The saffron and Calculus bovis treatment inhibited liver fibrosis in CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis rats at 4 weeks and 8 weeks. A: An overview of the experimental protocol is shown. Six-week-old rats received CCl₄ gavage for 4 weeks and 8 weeks, with concurrent drug administration initiated on the second week of gavage; B: Hematoxylin and eosin staining (scale bar: 100 μm); C: Masson’s staining (scale bar: 100 μm) of liver tissue from the indicated groups; D: Transmission electron microscopy was performed to examine the ultrastructure of liver tissue (scale bar: 500 nm). Note: In this study, “4w” and “8w” are defined as the 4^th and 8^th week, respectively, after the initial CCl₄ treatment. BJRG: Biejia Ruangan tablet; Saf: Saffron; Cal b: Calculus bovis; HE: Hematoxylin and eosin; TEM: Transmission electron microscopy.