Evaluation of Wound Healing and Anti-Oxidative Activity of Acacia Honey and N-Acetylcysteine in Sprague Dawley Rats

Abstract

Honey has been widely used in the treatment of wound as dressing for the last thousands of years, however its effectiveness in clinical trials not yet been fully recognized. It is now known that honey acts as a biologic wound dressing with multiple bioactivities. Major aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of honey in combination with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) for the treatment of excisional wounds in rats. Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were inflicted with excisional wounds. Wounds were treated with honey as control group and in combinations with 1%, 3% and 5% NAC. Wound area was measured after 3rd, 7th, 10th and 14th day. Improvement in wound healing was also confirmed by analyzing angiogenesis, apoptosis and chemotaxis genes. A significant increase was observed in the percentage of wound contraction and significant decrease in the period of epithelialization in honey+3% NAC group as compared with control group. Histologically, honey+3% NAC Group treatment resulted in almost complete re-epithelialization and re-structuring of the wound tissue. There was a significant rise in catalase and decrease in GSH levels in the control group that was reversed to a major extent by the application of honey+3% NAC dressing. The results revealed the improved wound healing potential of honey+3% NAC dressing. It can be concluded that beneficial effects of honey in combination with NAC accelerated wound healing in rats by enhancing proliferation, mobilization and angiogenesis at wound site.