Fig. 4

Representative histological cross section of the aorta in high-fat diet-fed ApoE^−/− mice. The ApoE^−/− mice were fed high-fat diet (HFD) with or without Illicium v. (100 or 200 mg/kg) for 12 week. a and b Aorta tissue samples were excised, fixed in 4 % formaldehyde, embedded in paraffin and then sectioned. Immunohistochemistry of sections stained for iNOS (A, magnification × 200; B, ×400). c Protein levels of iNOS were determined by western blot analysis