FIGURE 3.

Macroscopic appearance of UVR‐exposed skin. (A) A total of 18 mice were separated into six treatment groups, where each UVR exposure was immediately followed by topical treatment over the course of 5 weeks (as per Schedule A). For each group of three mice each, only one representative animal is shown before the onset of any treatments. After completion of the 5‐week treatment, photos were again taken, and photos of all three mice in each group are shown. (B) The extent of skin damage in each mouse shown in part A was evaluated by applying a skin damage score from 0 to 4, where 0 indicated no damage and 4 indicated very severe damage (see Materials and Methods). Shown are the averages from each group of three mice. Except for NEO400, none of the other treatments achieved any significant reduction in the skin damage score as compared to UV + Vehicle, and skin damage in all of them was significantly worse as compared to the UV + NEO400 group. ***p < 0.001. (C) Three mice per treatment group received the 5‐week exposure to UVR without any post‐UVR treatment, which resulted in pronounced skin damage (exemplary photo “N/A") at 5 weeks. Thereafter, the mice were subjected to continued 3× per week UVR, but this time each exposure was immediately followed by topical application of NEO400 or Aloe Vera (as per Schedule B). Two and four weeks later, photos were taken, and representative outcomes are shown, along with enlargements of the irradiated skin area.