Fig. 5

Effects of Baicalin on the estrous cycle and egg quality of aged female mice. Different treatments were given to 10-month-old female CD1 mice: intragastric administration with Baicalin (100 mg/kg) every other day in the aged Baicalin treatment group (Old-Baicalin), and intragastric administration with saline every other day in the aged control group (Old-Ctrl). After 60 days of intragastric administration, vaginal smears were obtained daily for HE staining and the phase of the estrous cycle for the mice was determined according to the ratio of keratinocytes and leukocytes. In the figure, along the y-axis, 1.0 represents diestrus, 1.5 represents proestrus, 2.0 represents estrus, and 2.5 represents metestrus. Line charts of the estrous cycles for the mice in the aged control group (A) and the aged Baicalin treatment group (B) were drawn. The lines with different colors in the two figures (A & B) represent the estrus situation of the three different mice in the two treatment groups. After 90 days of intragastric administration, the ovaries of the two groups were routinely fixed, embedded, and then sliced for HE staining to observe follicle development (C). Scale bar = 200 μm. Superovulation was performed in the mice after intragastric administration, followed by the acquisition of the COCs from the ampulla of the fallopian tube, and the morphological changes of the COCs in the control and Baicalin treatment groups were photographed and compared (above), as well as the oocytes stripped with the cumulus cells by hyaluronidase (below) (D). The red arrowhead indicates degenerated oocytes, and the red arrow indicates pycnotic oocytes