[Healing process in cutaneous surgical wounds in rats under the influence of Orbignya phalerata aqueous extract]. / Análise comparativa da cicatrização da pele com o uso intraperitoneal de extrato aquoso de Orbignya phalerata (babaçu). Estudo controlado em ratos.

INTRODUCTION: The wounds healing is a highly complex process with many phases. Countless substances have been used since the remote times with the purpose a simulating the process. Among them the Orbignya phalerata extract was considered as having a stimulating action. PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to verify the healing action of the Orbignya phalerata in the healing of skin surgical wounds by a comparative analysis of the alterations obtained in histological and morphologic aspects. METHODS: Sixty male adult Wistar rats were used. They were distributed in a randomly in two groups of 30 each and, in one group, Orbignya phalerata extract was used intraperitoneally in a dose of 50 mg/Kg in the first day of surgery. The experimental procedure consisted in a circular incision of two centimeters of diameter with metallic punch. In the control group the substance was not used. The rats were killed in the 7th, 14th, 21st days of the post-operative period and submitted to macro and microscopic analysis. The macroscopic one was made with magnifying glass and paquimeter. For the histological analysis, the sheets were processed with Hematoxilina-Eosina (HE) and trichromic of Masson and slides the vascular proliferation, mononuclear cells, polymorphonuclear cells, fibroblastic proliferation, collagen fibers and re-epithelization were assigned. RESULTS: In the macroscopic view the experimental group of seven days had only one animal with small amount of secretion. In the animals of 14 days all of them had good aspect. The ones of 21 days, complete healing was observed in all animals. In the histological analysis, there was no significant difference among groups, except for the 7th day with significant difference in the fibroblastic proliferation and re-epithelization favoring the experimental group. CONCLUSION: A favorable effect of the aqueous extract of babassu mesocarp was observed in a microscope analysis in the healing process of cutaneous surgical wounds in rats.