Fig. 5

Melanin deposition in artificial skin 10 days after treatment; Histopathological appearance of the artificial skin indicating the epidermal layer (stratum corneum, granulosum, spinosum, and stratum basale) which is mainly composed of keratinization, keratinocytes and melanocytes with melanin (golden brown pigment) deposition (a–d; arrow). The melanin deposition level in the artificial skin both treated with sericin (e–f, g–h, and i–j; 5, 10, and 20 µg/mL, respectively) and untreated (a, b non-allergic and c, d allergic inductions, respectively) was compared in the bar graph (k)