Enhancing rat full-thickness skin wounds with a mixed aloe/chitosan gel

Background: Finding optimal treatment for skin wounds, especially using natural substances, has been of main focus in skin care and cosmetics. Aloe vera has been historically used in wound care, and chitosan, which is obtained from crustaceans, has a variety of biomedical applications. Accordingly, it seems that a mixture of aloe/chitosan may provide added benefits in wound healing. Aims: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a mixture of aloe/chitosan gel in comparison to each component alone, on the healing of excisional full-thickness wounds in rats. Materials and Methods: Round full-thickness wounds were made on the back of animal necks. Five experimental groups received either no treatment (Group 1) or daily topical treatments with 1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (Group 2), aloe (Group 3), chitosan (Group 4), or mixed aloe/chitosan gels (Group 5) for 14 days. Wound areas on days 3, 7, and 14 and histopathologic parameters on day 14 were measured for analysis. Results: Means of wound areas showed a significant decreasing pattern in all groups through days 3-14 (P < 0.001). The topical treatment of wounds with aloe/chitosan significantly reduced wound areas compared to nontreated (P = 0.019) or 1% CMC-treated (P = 0.021) wounds. Histopathologic analysis revealed more reepithelialization, fibroblasts, collagen fibers and less polymorphonuclear leukocytes, new vessels, and granulation tissue in wounds treated with aloe/chitosan in comparison to controls (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Aloe/chitosan-treated wounds showed convincing healing profiles affirming the benefits of using natural bioactive substances in wound healing, especially in combination therapy