Asiaticoside enhances normal human skin cell migration, attachment and growth in vitro wound healing model

Wound healing proceeds through a complex collaborative process involving many types of cells. Keratinocytes and fibroblasts of epidermal and dermal layers of the skin play prominent roles in this process. Asiaticoside, an active component of Centella asiatica, is known for beneficial effects on keloid and hypertrophic scar. However, the effects of this compound on normal human skin cells are not well known. Using in vitro systems, we observed the effects of asiaticoside on normal human skin cell behaviors related to healing. In a wound closure seeding model, asiaticoside increased migration rates of skin cells. By observing the numbers of cells attached and the area occupied by the cells, we concluded that asiaticoside also enhanced the initial skin cell adhesion. In cell proliferation assays, asiaticoside induced an increase in the number of normal human dermal fibroblasts. In conclusion, asiaticoside promotes skin cell behaviors involved in wound healing; and as a bioactive component of an artificial skin, may have therapeutic value.