Figure 1 The acetylcholine concentration-response curves of the thoracic aortic rings are presented as decreases in the percentage of the steady-state precontraction tension obtained with 1 μM phenylephrine in (A) control, HCD, and SIM groups and (B) HCD, EH, EM, and EL groups. Data shown are the mean±SD, n=6–8. HCD – high-cholesterol diet group; SIM – simvastatin (10 mg/kg) treatment group; EH – high-dose emodin (100 mg/kg) treatment group; EM – medium-dose emodin (30 mg/kg) treatment group; EL – low-dose emodin (10 mg/kg) treatment group. ## P<0.01 vs control group; ** P<0.01 vs HCD group; NS – not significant.