Purpose:
To investigate the healing effect of
Terminalia chebula Retz
Extract (TCRE) on seconddegree
burns in rats.
Methods:
Male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, weighing 200 – 220 g, were subjected to deep seconddegree
skin burns by electrical scald instrument. The animals were divided into three groups as follows:
(1) second-degree burns model (control) group, (2) burns model treated with 1 % silver sulfadiazine
(SSD) group, and (3) burns model treated with 100 mg·mL
-1 TCRE group. On days 3, 7 and 14 following
the administration of the drug/extract, the wound area and histopathological changes in rat epidermis
were evaluated for the various groups. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of TCRE on
Staphyloccocus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli were also assessed separately.
Results:
On day 14, the mean wound area of TCRE treatment group (0.25 ± 0.06 cm
2) was significantly
smaller than that of the control rats (2.71 ± 0.20 cm
2, p < 0.01). The histological results indicate that the
inflammatory cells disappeared and were replaced by new granulation tissue in the group treated with
100 mg·mL
-1 TCRE by day 14. Compared with SSD group rats, the inflammatory cells and fibroblast
and granulation tissues of burnt rats treated with 100 mg·mL
-1 TCRE were same as those of rats that
had no burns. The antibacterial results revealed that the MIC of TCRE on Staphyloccocus aureus,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli was 3.13, 12.5 and 6.25 mg·mL
-1, respectively.
Conclusion:
Terminalia chebula Retz. has potentials to be developed as an effective medicinal herb for
the treatment of second-degree burns.
