Fig. 2

Hematoxylin and Eosin staining (H&E staining, A–D) in rat skin and Masson's trichrome staining (E–H) for collagen fibers and magnified views (I–L) in the CTL (n = 5), OVX (n = 6), OVX/L (n = 9) and OVX/H (n = 9) groups. Relative optical density (ROD, M) and thickness (N) of dermal connective tissues. Dense collagen fibers are detected in the dermis in the CTL group, but OVX significantly decreased the ROD of the dermal connective tissues. In the OVX/H group, however, treatment of IESL significantly restored the ROD value compared to that of the OVX group. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ****p < 0.0001