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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
Author Spotlight: A Multi-Depth Porcine Model for Comprehensive Study of Burn Injuries and Healing Processes
Published on: February 23, 2024
Healing Effects of Luteolin Versus Silver Sulphadiazine on Second-Degree Burn Wounds in Animal Model
Seyed Alireza Salimi Tabatabaee1, Fatemeh Karamali2, Ghobad Rahimi3
1Trauma Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Background:
Burn wounds are one of the most important injuries with significant mortality and morbidity. Although some treatments like silver sulphadiazine (SSD) ointment were introduced, the more effective as well as lower complications agents are under investigation. Current evidence shows that luteolin, as a flavonoid component of some fruits and vegetables, has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. Hence this study aimed to investigate the healing effects of luteolin ointments on second-degree burn wounds in rat models and compared it with SSD.
Materials And Methods:
Thirty male rats were randomly divided into five equal groups. A 2×2 cm2 circled second-degree wound was induced on the dorsal surface of the rat neck. In the control group, rats received no any treatments while in the vehicle group rats received ointment base, i.e., eucerin. Rats in positive control and experimental groups were treated with SSD and luteolin ointments (i.e., contained 2 and 5 percent of luteolin), respectively. The treatments of rats were performed daily for 17 days and wound closer rate (WCR) was measured. Also, histopathological examinations graded the severity of tissue damages using the determination of collagen formation, re-epithelialization, angiogenesis rate, and polymorphological leukocyte density.
Results:
On the 17th day, WCR in control and vehicle groups was markedly lower than in both treatment and experimental groups (P0.005). Also, WCRs in the L2% and L5% groups were higher than the SSD group. Histopathological studies indicated more significant wound healing effects of L2% and L5% ointments versus SSD and eucerin treatments in terms of tissue-enhanced damage severity in a dose-dependent manner. Also, collagen formation and re-epithelialization were markedly more observed in the rats, which received luteolin ointments than in other groups.
Conclusion:
Our study revealed that based on WCR and histopathological examination findings, luteolin ointments could significantly enhance wound healing more than SSD (as the standard treatment) in the second-degree wounds rat model.
