Fig. 1

A schematic view of rats treatment during the experiment. The animals were divided into five groups (n = 6/ group), including the Control group (CON), receiving standard laboratory diet and oleic acid as the vehicle (0.3 ml per rat); the Bilirubin group (B), receiving standard laboratory diet with an intraperitoneal injection (IP) of 10 mg/kg/day of bilirubin (previously dissolved in oleic acid); the Atherosclerosis group (AS), receiving high-fat diet (HFD), with IP of 35 mg/kg of STZ (freshly prepared by dissolving in citrate buffer 0.1 mol/L; pH 4.5 at the 8th week; and the Treated group, (AS + BR6), receiving HFD for 14 weeks and IP injection of 35 mg/kg of STZ at the 8th week with IP injection of 10 mg/kg/day of bilirubin at the 8th week which continued to the 14th weeks (6 weeks); and Protected group (AS + BR14), receiving HFD for 14 weeks and IP injection of 35 mg/kg of STZ at the 8th week with IP injection of 10 mg/kg/day of bilirubin from the beginning of the experiment (14 weeks)