A comparative study of the effects of topical application ofAloe vera,thyroid hormoneandsilver sulfadiazineon skin wounds inWistarrats

Abstract

Many research studies report the healing effects of Aloe Vera, thyroid hormone cream and silver sulfadiazine. However, the effects of these therapeutic agents are not well understood and have not been compared in one study. This study aimed at investigating the effects of topical application of an Aloe vera gel, a thyroid hormone cream and a silver sulfadiazine cream on the healing of skin wounds surgically induced in Wistar rats for determining the treatment of choice. In a randomized controlled trial, twelve male rats, aged 120 days and with a mean weight of 250 to 300 g, were divided randomly into 5 groups based on drug treatments: Aloe vera gel (AV), thyroid hormone cream (TC), silver sulfadiazine 1% (S), vehicle (V) and control. To evaluate the efficacy of each treatment technique, a biomechanical approach was used to assess tensile stress after 14 days of treatment. Tensile stress was significantly improved in the Aloe vera gel group as compared with the other four groups (P≤0.05). While the other treatment options resulted in better healing than the control group, this difference was not significant. We conclude that Aloe vera topical application accelerated the healing process more than thyroid hormone, silver sulfadiazine and vehicle in surgically induced incisions in rats.

Aloe vera gel and thyroid hormone cream may improve wound healing in Wistar rats

“…The results indicated that Aloe vera was significantly more effective in wound healing as attested by tensile stress parameters in sutured incisions [23]. However, to provide more evidence for our previous study, we applied a histological approach to examine and compare the effects of topical application of AV, TC and SSD cream on the healing process of sutured skin incision in Wistar rats.…”

Structural and biochemical alterations during the healing process of tendons treated with Aloe vera

“…vera, known as "the healing plant" (Choi et al, 2001), is effective during healing processes in various tissues. Its effect is described in the literature for fibroblast proliferation, angiogenesis, production of different growth factors, synthesis of ECM components, such as hyaluronic acid, dermatan sulfate and collagen, and increased amount of crosslinks between the collagen molecules, in skin, bone fractures and gastric lesion (Chithra et al, 1998a,b,c;Somboonwong et al, 2000;Rodríguez et al, 2002;Eamlamnam et al, 2006;Prabjone et al, 2006;Habeeb et al, 2007;Takahashi et al, 2009;Takzare et al, 2009;Atiba et al, 2011;Tarameshloo et al, 2012). According to the results of Maia Filho et al (2010), A. vera phonophoresis was effective for the treatment of tendinitis, with reduction of edema and number of inflammatory cells, as well as promoting the recovery of the tensile strength of tendon.…”

Plant extracts for the topical management of psoriasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Experimental studies suggest that topical Aloe vera improves wound healing, 24 has antipsoriatic activity comparable with tazarotene (0Á1%) in a mouse model, 25 may protect skin against carcinogens 26 and shows activity in a variety of dermatological conditions, 27 but reviews of RCTs of Aloe vera products for wound healing have been inconclusive. 28 Experimental studies on indirubin and its derivatives indicate antiproliferative effects in epidermal keratinocytes, 29 antiinflammatory activities, 30 radioprotective effects 31 and effects on regulatory T cells.…”