MMP9 and atherosclerosis: As shown in Figure 6, the ARCR + AS1517499 group had increased body weight (P < 0.05, Figure 6(a)), TC and TG levels (P < 0.01, Figures 6(b) and 6(c)), decreased plaque stability (P < 0.01, Figures 6(d)–6(i)), and increased MMP-9 (P < 0.01, Figure 6(j)) compared to the ARCR group, which indicates that the inhibitory effect of the ARCR herb pair on atherosclerosis is related to activation of the STAT6-dependent pathway.