Hyaluronic acid prevents oxygen free-radical damage to granulation tissue: a study in rats

Oxygen free-radicals are known to impair wound healing after ischaemia-reperfusion or polymorphonuclear cell stimulation. Furthermore, they reduce the breaking strength of all recent wounds and might be a cause of wound leakage. This study was performed to evaluate whether or not hyaluronic acid can reduce the risk of wound impairment caused by free-radicals, in rats with abdominal sepsis, polymorphonuclear cell stimulation or cytochrome C function derangement produced by xenobiotics. Male Sprague-Dawley rats with open wounds received phenazine methosulfate or zimosan, or had abdominal sepsis to induce oxygen free-radical generation. There were three groups of treatment: hyaluronic acid cream, hyaluronic acid ethyl ester gel, and placebo. The reduction in wound size was measured from the 1st to the 11th postoperative day; biopsies were taken for histological evaluation. Every other day, a gentle debridement was performed in all the groups of animals. We found that hyaluronic acid and its ethyl ester derivative significantly improved the wound healing of rats subjected to an increased generation of oxygen free-radicals. It remains to be established whether or not hyaluronic acid acts as a scavenger of free-radicals.