The cardiac tissue sections were studied by HE staining. Myocardial samples from the SHR-C group showed significant myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis. Wider SD values and filament breakage rates were observed more frequently in the SHCR-C group than in the treatment group. More fibrotic areas were found in the SHR-C group compared to the SHR-H and SHR-L groups. Late fibrosis replacement occurred in both SHR-C and SHR-L groups.

QLQX reduces the area of myocardial fibrosis in a dose-dependent manner. The micrograph of the Masson tri-color stained section of the left ventricular wall is shown in Figure 2. Quantitative analysis showed that the degree of interstitial fibrosis of the left ventricular wall in the SHR-L and SHR-C groups was significantly higher than that in the SHR-H and WKY rats. The administration of QLQX significantly reduced the fibrillary deposition in the left ventricular wall. To identify mast cells, tissue sections were stained with toluidine blue. Mast cell counts showed fewer mast cells in the heart in the SHR-H group than in the SHR-C group.

Typical photographs of hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, Masson staining, and Mast cell staining. HE staining: a, WKY group (n=7); b, SHR-H group (n=7); c, SHR-L group (n=7); d, SHRs vector treatment (control) group (SHCR-C) (n=7). Masson three-color dyeing: e, WKY group; f, SHR-H group; g, SHR-L group; h, SHR-C group. In our study, toluidine blue staining was used to detect cardiac mast cells: i, WKY group; j, SHR-H group; k, SHR-L group; l, SHR-C group. SHR control group (SHR-C; The spontaneously hypertensive rats in n=7) were treated with excipients (distilled water) alone (1ml/kg/ day); SHR high-dose QLQX group (SHR-H; n=7) Treatment with 4g/kg/ day QLQX; SHR low-dose group (SHR-L; n=7) treated with a low dose of QLQX (1g/kg/ day). The WKY group consisted of 7 untreated 8-week-old Wistar-Kyoto rats (normal controls) * Compared with the WISTAR-Kyoto (WKY), SHR-H, SHR high-dose Qiliqiangxin treatment group and spontaneously hypertensive rats with low-dose QLQX treatment group, P0.05# Compared with WKY and SHR-H groups, P0.05.