2.9. In vivo murine calvarial model of lipopolysaccharide‐induced osteolysis

Forty male 8‐week‐old C57/BL6 mice were purchased from Shanghai SLAC Laboratory Animal Co. (Shanghai, China). All mice were fed in a well‐ventilated controlled room at 25°C on a 12‐hours light/dark cycle and allowed free access to water and food. The protocol was approved by the Zhejiang University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (No. 11785).

The mice were divided into four groups: PBS (control group), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5 mg/kg body weight; positive group), LPS (5 mg/kg body weight) plus baicalin (6 mg/kg body weight; low‐dose group) and LPS (5 mg/kg body weight) plus baicalin (12 mg/kg body weight; high‐dose group). Subcutaneous injections were administered every day under light anaesthesia with a 30.5‐gauge needle at a point on the midline of the skull located between the ears with temporary ether anaesthesia. At 7 days after injection, mice were killed, and calvariae were dissected and fixed in 10% formaldehyde for 3 days at 4°C.