NOS3 and portal hypertension: In this study, we administered SF to rats in a bile duct ligation (BDL) model of portal hypertension and examined its effects by measuring indicators of liver function, serum and tissue indicators of fibrosis, immunohistological evidence of RhoA, Rho-kinase and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) abundance, as well as responsiveness to the α-adrenergic agonist, methoxamine by in situ liver perfusion.