Fig. 1From: Anethole improves the developmental competence of porcine embryos by reducing oxidative stress via the sonic hedgehog signaling pathwayEffect of anethole (AN) on the development of porcine in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos. A Representative images of embryos on D6, B percentages of cleavage on D2, and C blastocyst formation on D6 (0; n = 132, 0.3; n = 134, 0.5; n = 134, 1; n = 133). Scale bar = 100 μm. D Proportions of blastocyst stages with and without AN (n = 40 per groups). E Representative photographs of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxygenin staining of blastocysts on D6 and F percentages of apoptotic cells with and without AN treatment (n = 35 per groups). Scale bar = 50 μm. G Relative expression levels of apoptosis-related genes and BCL-XL/BAX ratio in D6 blastocysts with and without AN treatment (n = 3 per groups). H Representative images of CDX2 staining of D6 blastocysts and I numbers of inner cell masses (ICM), trophectoderms (TE), and total cells in D6 blastocysts with and without AN treatment (n = 26 per groups). Scale bar = 50 μm. J Relative expression levels of ICM/TE differentiation-related genes in D6 blastocysts with and without AN treatment (n = 3 per groups). Data are from five independent experiments, and different superscript letters indicate a significant difference (P < 0.05)Back to article page