Evaluation of the Effects of Local Application of Thyme Honey in Open Cutaneous Wound Healing

Background: Clinicians have been searching for ways to obtain "super normal" wound healing. Honey is a traditional remedy for the treatment of infected wounds. We aimed to evaluate the wound contraction and antibacterial proper-ties of locally produced Thyme honey on managing full-thickness wounds in vivo. Methods: This experimental study was conducted in 2015, in Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran on 54 adult male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 gr, and ages of 3-4 months. A square 1.5*1.5 wound was made on the back of the neck. The rats were divided into control and two expe-rimental groups. Additionally, the control and experimental groups were separated into three subgroups corresponding to 4, 7, and 14 d of study. The control group did not receive any treatment. For histological studies, samples were tak-en from the wound and adjacent skin. This tissue was examined using histological staining (H&E). Wound surface and wound healing were evaluated. Data were analyzed by using one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey test and (P<0.05) was significant. Results: The macroscopic and microscopic evaluations showed that the percentage of wound healing on different days in the control and experimental groups were significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Using honey twice a day on open wounds will accelerate the healing process.