BACKGROUND Burn wounds are a worldwide health problem, leading to physical and psychological disabilities in all age’s groups. With regard to absorbent properties of Plantago ovata mucilage which can decrease wound moisture, we aimed to compare the effect of silver sulfadiazine (SSD) 1% and powdered P. ovata on second-degree burn wound healing in rats. METHODS This experimental study was conducted on 30 male Wistar rats with second-degree burn in three groups. Group 1 (control) did not receive any treatment; group 2 and group 3 (treated groups) were dressed daily using SSD cream and P. ovata powder, respectively. The weight of rats, wound size (by applying ImageJ software) and percentage of wound healing on the 5 th , 7 th , 10 th , 13 th , 16 th , 19 th , and 22 nd days (by diagnosing a plastic surgeon) and histological cutaneous changes at day 22 were evaluated. The Prism software was applied for data analysis. The Haematoxylin & Eosin as well as Masson's trichrome staining were performed on wound skin biopsies. RESULTS On day 22 nd , 20%, 50% and 60% of the rats had complete wound healing in the control, SSD and P. ovat a groups, respectively. A significant decrease in wound size was shown in the treated groups compared to the control group ( P <0.01), but no significant difference was shown between the treated groups ( P >0.05). CONCLUSION However, the wound healing in P. ovata group or SSD was better than the control group, and the significant difference was not found with the treated group.

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