Effect of aqueous extract of Elaeagnus angustifolia fruit on experimental cutaneous wound healing in rats

The present study was conducted to investigate the histological changes and wound healing effect of aqueous extract of Elaeagnus angustifolia. After creating full-thickness skin wounds on the back of 45 male Sprague-Dawley rats they were randomly divided into three groups. Treated group received the extract, positive control group were treated with mupirocin ointment 2% and control group did not receive any treatment. Wound healing rates were calculated on days 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15 post-wounding and the wound tissues were harvested at 5, 10, and 15 days for histological analysis and hydroxyproline content measurement. The results indicated a significant increase in the percentage of wound contraction and hydroxyproline content in the treated group comparing to the control and positive control groups. A significant increase in the assigned histological scores was observed at 10 and 15 days in the treated and positive control groups compared to the control group. The results demonstrate that aqueous extract of Elaeagnus angustifolia accelerates cutaneous wound healing, and its effect may be due to the increased re-epithelialization and collagen deposition in wound and so it can be considered as a therapeutic agent for wound healing.