Research Paper Volume 17, Issue 7 pp 1762—1783

Figure 1. Study design and outcomes of pterostilbene ingestion on estrous cycle and body weight during mouse aging. (A) Study design for in vivo experiments. A total of 80 ICR mice at 25 weeks (wks) of age were housed until 47 weeks of age and fed either with or without pterostilbene (PTS). These mice were divided into four groups (20 mice in each group) based on four different feeding durations: 0 (control), 1, 6, and 22 weeks. Additionally, young mice served as controls in some experiments to confirm the effect of aging on reproduction. Mice were weighed and recorded at the start of pterostilbene ingestion (25 weeks of age) and again at 47 weeks of age. After reaching 47 weeks, ovulated oocytes were collected and counted following human chorionic gonadotropin injection for ovulation induction. Subsequently, in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer was performed to determine the rates of fertilization, blastocyst formation, implantation, live pups, and abortion. Some ovulated oocytes were used for analyses of mitochondrial functions. (B) Estrous cycles during 22 weeks of pterostilbene ingestion. Estrous cycles were evaluated by examining vaginal epithelial cell smears collected every 48 hours (n=18-20 animals, with n=78 observations per animal). For the control group, young ICR mice at six weeks of age were used as young controls. (C) Body weights of animals. Body weights of animals in each group were recorded at 25 and 47 weeks of age at the start and end of pterostilbene ingestion, respectively (n=18-20 animals). The bars represent the mean ± standard error (SE). *, p < 0.05, a significant difference between the same characters.