A comparative study of wound healing kinetics, efficacy, and profiling of VG111 in canine wounds

The management of naturally occurring canine wounds, such as bite and degloving injuries, remains a major veterinary challenge because standard treatments often struggle to balance infection control and tissue regeneration. Although povidone-iodine (PI) remains a widely used first-line antiseptic in both human and veterinary medicine, there are concerns regarding its potential for cytotoxicity and the inhibition of fibroblast growth, which can delay healing. To address these limitations, a prospective comparative study was conducted on 32 client-owned dogs at GADVASU in Ludhiana, where wounds were randomized into four treatment arms. The animals received either the novel natural product formulation VG111 or standard 5% PI, both with and without systemic cefotaxime. Clinical outcomes were assessed through wound contraction percentages and modified Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool (BWAT) scores at 5-day intervals. The results revealed that the VG111-only group achieved complete healing by day 25 nearly twice as fast as the PI group, which took up to 50 days. Interestingly, the addition of systemic cefotaxime to VG111 modestly delayed healing kinetics rather than accelerating them. In addition to clinical evaluation, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was utilized to identify 41 chemical constituents within VG111. These chemical findings were further complemented by in silico molecular docking simulations, indicating potential mechanisms underlying the formulation's robust antimicrobial activity.