ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dorema aucheri gum (DAG) is a bitter flavonoid gum widely used for numerous medicinal purposes including wound recovery. The present work investigates the acute toxicity and wound-healing effects of DAG in excisional skin injury in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague Dawley rats (24) were clustered into four groups, each rat had a full-thickness excisional dorsal neck injury (2.00 cm) and addressed with 0.2 mL of the following treatments for 15 days: Group A (vehicle), rats addressed with normal saline; Group B, rats received intrasite gel; C and D, rats addressed with 250 and 500 mg/kg of DAG, respectively. RESULTS: The results revealed the absence of any toxic signs in rats who received oral dosages of 2 and 5 g/kg of DAG. Wound healing was significantly accelerated following DAG treatments indicated by smaller open areas and higher wound contraction percentages compared to vehicle rats. Histological evaluation revealed higher fibroblast formation, collagen deposition, and noticeably lower inflammatory cell infiltration in granulated skin tissues of DAG-addressed rats compared to vehicle rats. DAG treatment caused significant modulation of immunohistochemical proteins (decreased Bax and increased HSP 70) and inflammatory mediators (reduced TNF-α, IL-6, and magnified IL-10), which were significantly varied compared to vehicle rats. Moreover, topical DAG treatment led to significant upregulation of the hydroxyproline (HDX) (collagen) and antioxidant content. At the same time, decreased the lipid peroxidation (MDA) levels in healed tissues obtained from DAG-treated rats. CONCLUSION: The present wound contraction by DAG might be linked with the modulatory effect of its phytochemicals (polysaccharides, flavonoids, and phenolic) on the cellular mechanisms, which justify their folkloric use and provokes further investigation as therapeutic drug additives for wound contraction.