Wound Healing Effects of Persian Oak (Quercus brantii) Ointment in Rats

Abstract

Background: Persian oak (Quercus brantii) belongs to the Fagaceae family. It is a medicinal plant which is commonly used by the tribes in south western Iran to treat inflammatory and gastric ulcers. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Persian oak ointment on dermal wound healing in rats. Materials and Methods: For making full-thickness wounds in rats, the excisional wound model was used. Five groups, each consisting of 8 rats were used. The authors studied a total of 40 wounds in five groups of rats. Each wound measured 15 mm × 15 mm. Persian oak ointment (1% and 2%, w/w) was prepared in eucerin base and applied on the wound twice a day until complete healing had achieved. The state of the wound healing was evaluated using wound closure ratio, wound contraction and re-epithelialization, tensile strength, hydroxyproline content and collagen content. Histopathological examination was also performed. Results: Persian oak 1% and 2% groups and the phenytoin group had a statistically significant higher wound closure ratio than the control group. The effects produced by Persian oak ointment showed significant healing improvement (P < 0.01) compared with the control group in parameters such as wound contraction, epithelialization period, hydroxyproline content and tensile strength. Histopathological studies also showed improvement in wound healing with Persian oak ointment. Conclusions: The present study affirms that Persian oak ointment demonstrates wound healing in animal model. Further studies are needed to demonstrate the possible effects of Persian oak ointment on wound healing in humans.