Clinical, Histopathological, and Immunohistochemical Investigations
of the Effects of Aloe Vera (Aloe
barbadensis Miller) on Open Wound Healing in Rats
Hakçahan Can1, I. Taci Cangul2,*,
Sabire Guler3, Ozkan Yavas2, Sibel Tokoglu
Sert1, Elif Unlu1, Emine Kırım1,
Ahmet Akkoc2, Ayse Topal1 and Nihal Y. Gul
Satar1
1Department
of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University,
16059, Nilufer/Bursa, Turkey; 2Department of
Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University,
16059, Nilufer/Bursa, Turkey;
3Department
of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa
Uludag University, 16059, Nilufer/Bursa, Turkey
The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of freshly prepared (from
the freeze-dried powder form) solution of
Aloe barbadensis Miller on experimentally induced excisional wounds in rats.
Eighty female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into ten groups: control,
Madecassol® pomade, Carravet® gel, and different
concentrations of the solution form of
Aloe vera. Bilateral excisional wounds were created on both the right and
left sides of the dorsal midline. All drugs were applied topically for 21 days,
wounds were observed daily, and biopsies were taken on days 7, 14, and 21.
Inflammatory cell count, vascularization, VEGF, and TGF-β1 levels were
investigated. Biomechanical evaluations were also performed in a stretching
device by using skin samples taken on day 21 after ending the study. Wounds in
the 1% Aloe vera group closed earlier
than in the control group. Wounds applied with
Aloe vera had lower inflammatory cell
counts and a higher degree of neovascularisation when compared with the wounds
applied with Madecassol® pomade and Carravet® gel. TGF-β1
levels decreased gradually only in the control group, while VEGF levels in the
2.5 and 10% Aloe vera groups were
significantly higher than in the other groups on day 21. The 10%
Aloe vera group had a higher tensile
strength than other groups. As a conclusion, the solution form of
Aloe vera is more effective than the
gel form in wound healing. Notably, the 1% concentration of
Aloe vera solution can be a potential
wound healing agent.
To Cite This Article:
Can H, Cangul IT, Guler S, Yavas O, Tokoglu Sert S, Unlu E, Kırım E, Akkoc A,
Topal A and Gul Satar NY
2025. Clinical, histopathological, and
immunohistochemical investigations of the effects of
Aloe vera (Aloe
barbadensis Miller) on open wound healing in rats. Pak Vet J.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2025.210