Efficacy of Acorus calamus on collagen maturation on full thickness cutaneous wounds in rats.

BACKGROUND: The rhizomes of Acorus calamus and their essential oil are widely used in the flavoring industry and production of alcoholic beverages in Europe. Recent reports have confirmed the presence of several pharmacological components in the rhizomes of A. calamus. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to find out the efficacy of topical administration of ethanolic extract of A. calamus on dermal wound healing in rats. Wound healing is a natural process occurring in living organisms, which results in a complete or partial remodeling of injured tissue and ultimately progresses to the formation of a fibrous scar. Several natural products have been reported to augment the wound healing process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An ethanolic extract of A. calamus was prepared and its wound-healing efficacy was studied. An excision wound was made on the back of the rat and 200 µL (40 mg/kg body weight) of the A. calamus extract was applied topically once daily for the treated wounds. The control wounds were treated with 200 µL of phosphate buffered saline. RESULTS: The granulation tissues formed were removed at 4, 8 and 12 days and biochemical parameters such as deoxyribonucleic acid, total protein, total collagen, hexosamine and uronic acids were measured. The amount of type I/III collagen formed in control and treated wound tissues was evaluated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The epithelialization time, tensile strength and histological examination of the wounds were also studied. Biochemical analyses of the granulation tissues revealed a significant increase in collagen, hexosamine and uronic acid when compared with the control. The tensile strength of extract treated wounds was found to increase by 112%. A significant reduction in lipid peroxide levels suggested that A. calamus possesses antioxidant components. CONCLUSIONS: The results strongly confirm the beneficial effects of A. calamus in augmenting the wound healing process.

An eco-friendly method for short term preservation of skins/hides using Semecarpus anacardium nut extract.

Preservation or curing of hides and skins is performed as the primary step of leather processing. Common salt is employed as the conventional agent for curing purpose. Use of salt enhances the pollution load of tannery effluent which becomes highly contaminated with increased total dissolved solids and chlorides. To overcome this hurdle, researchers are in constant search of alternative preservation techniques which are either totally void of salt or use only a meager amount of salt. In the present study, we had explored the possibility of using Semecarpus anacardium nut extract as an alternative to salt for the curing process by assessing different parameters like hair slip, putrefaction odor, volatile nitrogen content, moisture content, bacterial count, and shrinkage temperature in comparison to the salt curing method. The antibacterial property of the plant extract was also investigated. The results obtained substantiated that the nut extract of S. anacardium effectively could preserve the skins for more than a month, by its antibacterial activity along with the dehydrating property of acetone.

Efficacy of L-proline administration on the early responses during cutaneous wound healing in rats.

Proline (Pro) plays a versatile role in cell metabolism and physiology. Pro and hydroxypro are major imino acids present in collagen, an important connective tissue protein, essential for wound healing, which is a primary response to tissue injury. This study explains the role of L-pro on cutaneous wound healing in rats when administered both topically and orally. Open excision wounds were made on the back of rats, and 200 µl (200 mg) of pro was administered topically and orally once daily to the experimental rats until the wounds healed completely. The control wounds were left untreated. Granulation tissues formed were removed after day 4 and 8 of post excision wounding, and biochemical parameters such as total protein, collagen, hexosamine, and uronic acid were estimated. Levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, ascorbic acid, and reduced glutathione were evaluated along with lipid peroxides in the granulation tissues. Tensile strength and period of epithelialization were also measured. It was observed that the treated wounds healed very fast as evidenced by augmented rates of epithelialization and wound contraction, which was also confirmed by histological examinations. The results strappingly authenticate the beneficial effects of the topical administration of L-proline in the acceleration of wound healing than the oral administration and control.

Topical application of Acalypha indica accelerates rat cutaneous wound healing by up-regulating the expression of Type I and III collagen.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Acalypha indica Linn. (Acalypha indica) vernacularly called Kuppaimeni in Tamil, has been used as a folklore medicine since ages for the treatment of wounds by tribal people of Tamil Nadu, Southern India. The present study investigates the biochemical and molecular rationale behind the healing potential of Acalypha indica on dermal wounds in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Acalypha indica extract (40 mg/kg body weight) was applied topically once a day on full-thickness excision wounds created on rats. The wound tissue was removed and used for estimation of various biochemical and biophysical analyses and to observe histopathological changes with and with-out extract treatment. The serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) was measured at 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h post-wounding using ELISA. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was performed to study the expression pattern of transforming growth factor [TGF-ß1], collagen 1 α (I) [Col 1 α (I)] and collagen 3 α (I) [Col 3 α (I)]. Likewise, linear incision wounds were created and treated with the extract and used for tensile strength measurements. RESULTS: Wound healing in control rats was characterized by less inflammatory cell infiltration, lack of granulation tissue formation, deficit of collagen and significant decrease in biomechanical strength of wounds. Acalypha indica treatment mitigated the oxidative stress and decreased lipid peroxidation with concomitant increase in ascorbic acid levels. It also improved cellular proliferation, increased TNF-α levels during early stages of wound healing, up-regulated TGF-ß1 and elevated collagen synthesis by markedly increasing the expression of Col 1 α (I) and Col 3 α (I). Increased rates of wound contraction, epithelialization, enhanced shrinkage temperature and high tensile strength were observed in the extract treated rats. CONCLUSION: Acalypha indica extract was shown to augment the process of dermal wound healing by its ability to increase collagen synthesis through up-regulation of key players in different phases of wound healing and by its antioxidative potential.