Background: Burn is a life-threatening problem which can lead to alteration in the expression of several genes. A folk medicine topical ointment made from Perovskia abrotanoides (P. abrotanoides) was extensively used in northern region of Iran for burn wound healing properties. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the healing potency of P. abrotanoides ointment and the expression patterns of wound healing-related genes in rat experimental model of of burn.
Methods: In an experimental study, scald burn was inflicted in 28 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats by pouring 2.5 cc of boiling water into a firm rubber ring (2 cm diameter) on the dorsal surface of skin for 10 seconds. Rats were randomly divided into four groups and treated for 7 consecutive days: P. abrotanoides ointmenttreated group; a vehicle-treated group, which received the complete ointment without P. abrotanoides part; silver sulfadiazine-treated group; and the control group which received no treatment. Animals were sacrificed and a full thickness skin biopsy was taken from the burn site. Finally, the relative quantification of gene expression was performed using the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) as target genes and β2-microglobulin (β2M) as a reference gene.
Results: VEGF was up-regulated during the first week of healing in P. abrotanoides ointment-treated group; however, the local expression of TGF-β was similar between the groups.
Conclusion: P. abrotanoides ointment utilized in Iranian folk medicine can accelerate wound healing by producing VEGF.