Assessment of antioxidant and cutaneous wound healing effects of Ornithogalum cuspidatum hydroalcoholic extract in male Wistar rats

Background and Objective: Ornithogalum cuspidatum is a medicinal plant in Iranian traditional medicine that has several pharmacological effects. Due to strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of this plant, the current study was designed to evaluate wound healing activity of O. cuspidatum on cutaneous wounds in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: A full-thickness excisional wounds was induced on the back of 50 Wistar rats. The animals were randomly divided into five groups, including control, basal cream, phenytoin, O. cuspidatum 5%, and O. cuspidatum 10%. Five animals of each group were euthanized at 10 and 20 days post-injury (DPI) and wounds were assessed through gross and histopathological analyses. Also, hydroxyproline content and MDA, NO and TOS concentrations were determined. Results: Treated animals with O. cuspidatum showed a significant reduction in the wound surface area at 10 and 20 dpi. Moreover, treatment with this plant reduced the number of lymphocytes and macrophages, increased the number of fibroblasts at the earlier stages and enhanced number of fibrocytes at the later stages of wound healing. O. cuspidatum significantly improved re-epithelialization and epithelial formation, enhanced hydroxyproline content and thereby maturity of the collagen fibers. Also, O. cuspidatum significantly reduced MDA, NO and TOS concentration as oxidant status in granulation tissue. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that application of hydroethanolic extract of O. cuspidatum promoted wound healing due to increased re-epithelialization and collagen deposition in wound tissue and also induction of considerable wound contraction, so it can be considered as a therapeutic agent for wound healing.