2.3. Animal model and environmental condition
The experimental procedures were approved by the University
of Alberta Animal Welfare Committee in accordance with
the guidelines issued by the Canada Council on Animal Care.
12–14 weeks (275–300 g) old male spontaneous hypertensive
rats (SHR) were obtained from Charles Rivers Canada. They
were kept in the University of Alberta animal facility for a
week for acclimatization, exposed to 12 h cycle of light (light
on from 6 am to 6 pm) in a humidity and temperature-controlled
(@ 23 C) environment. All rats were fed with standard
rat chow (0.3% NaCl) and water ad libitum.