Figure 5.

Vaginal cornification in ovariectomized (OVX) rats treated with the Styphnolobium japonicum fruit (SJF) and germinated soybean embryo (GSE) complex extract. Representative images of stained vaginal epithelial cells, illustrating the proportion of nucleated and cornified cells (left panel). Counting and comparison of the number of cornified cells (right panel). Scale bar, 100 µm. The complex extract was prepared by blending the SJF and GSE. 17β-estradiol (E2) was used as a positive control. The results are presented as means ± standard deviation (n = 7). ** p < 0.01, vs. the sham group; ## p < 0.01, ### p < 0.001, vs. the OVX group.