Wound Healing Activity of a Traditionally Used Poly Herbal Product in a Burn Wound Model in Rats

Abstract

Background:Burns are known as one of the most common and destructive forms of injury with a vast spectrum of consequences. Despite the discovery of various antibacterial and antiseptic agents, burn wound healing still has remained a challenge to modern medicine. Plants, with a valuable traditional support, have been considered as potential agents for prevention and treatment of disorders in recent years. However, modern scientific methods should be applied to validate the claims about the therapeutic effects of the herbal products.Objectives:This study was conducted to evaluate the wound-healing activity of a poly herbal cream (PHC), retrieved from Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM), in a rat burn wound model in Iran.Materials and Methods:In this experimental study, PHC containing aqueous extracts of Malva sylvestris and Solanum nigrum leaves and oily extract of Rosa damascena petals was used. Second-degree burn wounds were induced in four groups of five rats each. Group 1 received no treatment while groups 2, 3 and 4 were given cream base, silver sulfadiazine (SS) 1% and PHC, respectively to compare the efficacy of PHC with the negative and positive control groups. The percentage of wound healing on days 2, 6, 10 and 14 and histopathological parameters of healed wounds on the 14th day were assessed. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of PHC were evaluated using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and micro-dilution methods, respectively.Results:There was a significant improvement in healing percentage of PHC-treated rats in comparison to the other groups at the end of the treatment period (87.0% ± 2.1% for PHC in comparison to 32.2% ± 1.6%, 57.0% ± 5.3% and 70.8% ± 3.5% for the control, cream base and SS groups, respectively). Moreover, the healed wounds in PHC-treated animals contained less inflammatory cells and had desirable re-epithelialization with remarkable neovascularization. In addition to the antioxidant activity, PHC exhibited antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus.Conclusions:Poly herbal cream experimentally and histopathologically revealed a burn wound healing activity probably due to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of its phytochemical contents. Therefore, this study confirms the use of M. sylvestris, S. nigrum and R. damascena in burn prescriptions in ITM.

Ellagic Acid Activity in Healing Process of Incision Wound on Male Albino Rats (Rattus norvegicus)

“…Research on topical administration of natural ingredients that have antioxidant activity proved to improve the process of wound healing and prevent tissue damage due to oxidative stress [17,18].…”

“…After wound occurred, the healing phase that involved are inflammation, proliferation and remodeling [18].…”

Malva: Food, Medicine and Chemistry

“…35 Modern research findings confirm the traditional knowledge. 161,183,[248][249][250][251][252][253][254][255][256][257][258] But carefully reviewing this data reveals an interesting and not always consistent results. For example, it is reported that chloroform and n-hexane extracts of M. parviflora are irritant.…”

“…Total phenolic content, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities PHC were determined. 256 A cream (1%) was prepared from aqueous extract of flowers used to treat surgical blade induced wounds in mice. After 10 days healing was almost complete.…”

GC-MS and NMR analysis of the bioactive compounds from the crude extracts of Waltheria indica and the histopathological changes induced in albino rats challenged with Naja nigricollis venom

“…Medicinal plants are important sources of medicines and presently constitute about 25% of pharmaceutical prescriptions [1]. According to the World Health Organization, the traditional medicine system continues to play an important role in healthcare system since over 80% of the population in the third world countries relies on traditional medicine [2].…”