Purpose: To investigate the healing effect of
Punica granatum
L. peel (Pomegranate husk) extract
(PHE) on deep second-degree burns in rats.
Methods: Male Wistar rats, weighing 220 – 240 g, were subjected to deep second-degree skin burns by
electrical scald instrument. The animals were divided into three groups as follows: (1) deep seconddegree
burn model (control) group, (2) burns model treated with 1 % silver sulfadiazine (SSD) group,
and (3) burns model treated with PHE group. On days 3, 7, 14 and 21, animal weight, wound area as
well as histopathological features of skin were evaluated for all the groups. Minimum inhibitory
concentration (MIC) of PHE on
Staphyloccocus aureus
,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
and
Escherichia coli
were also assessed separately.
Results: On day 21, the mean wound area of PHE treatment group (0.21
± 0.07 cm
2) and SSD
treatment group (1.15
± 0.1 cm
2) were significantly smaller than that of control rats (2.42
± 0.2 cm
2, p <
0.01) respectively. Histological results indicate that inflammatory cells disappeared substantially and
were replaced by new granulation tissue in PHE treatment or SSD treatment group, while that of the
control rats still showed severe inflammatory cell infiltration. Antibacterial test revealed that the MIC of
PHE on
Staphyloccocus aureus,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and
Escherichia coli was 6.25, 12.5 and
6.25 mg•mL
-1, respectively.
Conclusion: The results reveal that PHE is an effective and promising medicinal herb for the
management of deep second degree burns.
