Fig. 5

The comparison of the microscopic images of the ovaries in sham group (a, b), PCOS control (c, d), metformin (e, f), caraway (g, h), and thylakoids (i, j). S.F: Secondary (antral) follicle, C.L: Corpus luteum, C.F: Cyst follicle, A.F: Atretic follicle, P.F: Primordial follicle, U.F: Unilaminar follicle, M.F: Multilaminar follicle, G.L: Granulosa layer, T: Theca layer. H&E staining with magnification at (a, c, e, g) × 100, and (b, d, f, h) × 400. a, b: The different developmental stages of folliculogenesis were normal in the sham group. c, d: The PCOS control group showed a significant increase in the number of atretic follicle oocytes and volume of the ovarian cyst along with a decreased in the volume of the corpus luteum. e-j: All treated groups showed a noticeable reduce in the number of ovarian cysts along with higher volume of the corpus luteum and healthy follicles. However, the number of atretic follicle oocytes in these groups was still significantly higher in comparison to the sham group