This study is aimed to evaluate the potential effects of
sodium aescinate (SA, the
sodium salt of
aescin) on wound healing in
streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. An excision skin
wound was created in diabetic rats, and the wounded rats were divided into three groups: I) control group, II) gel-treated group, and III) SA-treated group. The control group
wounds received topically
normal saline once daily for 19 days. The gel-treated and SA-treated
wounds received topically 400 μl of
pluronic F-127 gel (25%) and 400 μl of SA (0.3%) in
pluronic gel, respectively, once daily for 19 days. SA application in diabetic rats increased the
wound contraction and significantly decreased the level of the inflammatory
cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in comparison to the gel-treated group and control group. SA application in diabetic rats also resulted in a marked increase in the level of anti-inflammatory
cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) and activities of
antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD),
catalase (CAT), and
glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) compared to the other groups. Histopathologically, SA-treated
wounds showed better granulation tissue dominated by marked fibroblast proliferation, and
wounds were covered by thick regenerated epithelial layer. Additionally, the application of only
pluronic gel produced some beneficial effects in some parameters in comparison to control group, but most of them were not significantly different. These findings demonstrated that SA may effectively control and improve wound healing in diabetic rats via its anti-inflammatory and
antioxidant activities.