Regulation of wound strength by Ocimum sanctum: in silico and in vivo evidences

Background: The present work has been an attempt to facilitate the scientific understanding of the wound strength by Ocimum sanctum (OS, holy basil) a traditional knowledge practiced since ancient times in India.Methods: The in vivo Incision (wound strength) and Dead space wound models (biochemical estimation of components of ECM) in rats and In silico method, where one of the target proteins from each class of MMPs involved in wound strength was selected for molecular docking with eugenol (one of the flavonoid present in OS).Results: Molecular docking showed that eugenol was able to inhibit all selected MMPs, i.e. collagenase (-6.37 Kcal/mol), gelatinase (-5.99 Kcal/mol), elastase (-6.31 Kcal/mol) and stromelysin (-5.79 Kcal/mol). Ethanolic extract of Ocimum sanctum (OSE, 200-800 mg/kg) when administered as suspension showed dose-dependent increase in wound breaking strength in in vivo Incision wound rat model. OSE 400 mg/kg produced a significant increase in protein and collagen constituents like hydroxyproline, hexuronic acid and hexosamine in the connective tissue content of extracellular matrix when studied in Dead space wound model in rat.Conclusions: The present study is an attempt to correlate the in vivo findings on wound strength promoting activity by Ocimum sanctum with in silico tools