Wound healing properties of Copaifera paupera in diabetic mice

PLoS One. 2017 Oct 31;12(10):e0187380. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187380. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Copaifera oleoresin is one of the most used natural products in popular medicine all over the world. Among other effects (i.e., anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, microbicidal) one of the most well-known is its wound healing capacity. However, the mechanism by which the oleoresin presents its effect is still not clear. In this study, our aim was to evaluate the wound healing capacity of oleoresin obtained from Copaifera paupera, its mechanism of action and identify its major components. For these purposes, diabetic Swiss Webster mice were topically treated with oleoresin (100, 150 or 200 mg/kg) for 14 consecutive days after an excision was performed in the back of the mice. Cytokines, wound retraction and histological evaluation were conducted at 3, 7 and 10 days (for cytokines); 0, 3, 7, 10 and 14 days (for wound retraction); and 7 and 14 days (for histological evaluation). Our data indicate that oleoresin significantly reduced production of MCP-1 and TNF-α at days 7 and 10 post-excision and increased IL-10 production at both days. All treatments demonstrated an effect similar or higher to that in collagenase-treated mice. Histological evaluations demonstrated that higher dose treatment resulted in better resolution and closure of the wound and higher levels of collagen deposition and indexes of re-epithelialization even when compared with the collagenase-treated group. The treatment with oleoresin from Copaifera paupera demonstrated that it is even better than an ointment routinely used for improvement of wound healing, suggesting this oleoresin as an option for use in diabetic patients.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chemokine CCL2 / metabolism
  • Fabaceae / chemistry*
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism
  • Wound Healing / drug effects*

Substances

  • Ccl2 protein, mouse
  • Chemokine CCL2
  • Plant Extracts
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Grants and funding

We would like to thank Mr. Alan Minho for technical assistance, Instituto Vital Brazil (Niterói City, Brazil) for mouse donation and Prof. Fabio Boylan (Trinity University, Dublin) for English revision. This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, grant support and fellowship # 303033/2013-4 and 405332/20165 to PDF), Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ, grant support # E-26/203.018/2015 to PDF), Conselho de Administração de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES, fellowship to JLA) and FAPEAM (REDEBIO and PAPAC projects, fellowship to SLB).