Lab Anim Res.  2012 Mar;28(1):17-21. 10.5625/lar.2012.28.1.17.

A comparative study of the effects of topical application of Aloe vera, thyroid hormone and silver sulfadiazine on skin wounds in Wistar rats

Affiliations
  • 1Anatomical and Biological Sciences Department, Medical School of Shahid Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran. m.taramoshlou@sbmu.ac.ir
  • 2English Language Department, Medical School of Shahid Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran.
  • 3Department of Pathology, Army Medical University, Tehran, Iran.
  • 4Anatomical and Biological Sciences Department, Medical School of Rasht Medical University, Rasht, Iran.

Abstract

Many research studies report the healing effects of Aloe Vera, thyroid hormone cream and silver sulfadiazine. However, the effects of these therapeutic agents are not well understood and have not been compared in one study. This study aimed at investigating the effects of topical application of an Aloe vera gel, a thyroid hormone cream and a silver sulfadiazine cream on the healing of skin wounds surgically induced in Wistar rats for determining the treatment of choice. In a randomized controlled trial, twelve male rats, aged 120 days and with a mean weight of 250 to 300 g, were divided randomly into 5 groups based on drug treatments: Aloe vera gel (AV), thyroid hormone cream (TC), silver sulfadiazine 1% (S), vehicle (V) and control. To evaluate the efficacy of each treatment technique, a biomechanical approach was used to assess tensile stress after 14 days of treatment. Tensile stress was significantly improved in the Aloe vera gel group as compared with the other four groups (P< or =0.05). While the other treatment options resulted in better healing than the control group, this difference was not significant. We conclude that Aloe vera topical application accelerated the healing process more than thyroid hormone, silver sulfadiazine and vehicle in surgically induced incisions in rats.

Keyword

Wound healing; Aloe vera; thyroid hormone; silver sulfadiazine; incision; topical application

MeSH Terms

Aged
Aloe
Animals
Humans
Male
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Silver
Silver Sulfadiazine
Skin
Thyroid Gland
Wound Healing
Silver
Silver Sulfadiazine

Figure

  • Figure 1 Diagram of the wound healing model.


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