Research on collagen type I scaffolds with Aloe vera is sparse. The aim of this work was to develop collagen type I scaffolds with gelatin-collagen microparticles and loaded with a dispersion of A. vera, to assess their performance as grafting material for healing of skin wounds. Scaffolds were evaluated in a Cavia porcellus model with full-thickness skin wound and compared with wounds healed by secondary intention (controls). Animals grafted with scaffolds without A. vera and their control wounds were also included in the study. Evaluation of enzymatic degradation and percentage of the scaffolds' free amino groups-as an indirect assessment of their cross-linking-were also carried out because A. vera contains compounds which affect their stability. We found that dispersions of lyophilized A. vera extract loaded on scaffolds do not have cytotoxic potential, and they decrease collagenase degradation of scaffolds in the range of 0.1 to 0.3% w/v in a dose-dependent manner. Only the A. vera dispersion with the highest concentration (0.3% w/v) decreased the percentage of free amino groups, which are the ones involved in the cross-link of collagen fibers. This finding suggests that cross-linking is not the mechanism by which the tested dispersions stabilize the scaffolds. Preclinical, histochemical, and histomorphometric analyses of repaired wound tissue indicate that loading collagen type I scaffolds, including microparticles of gelatin-collagen, with A. vera in the concentrations tested does not improve wound healing. Low biodegradability of the tested scaffolds caused by the inhibition of collagenase activity might account for these results.
Keywords: Aloe vera; Collagen type I scaffolds; Collagenase degradation; Cross-linking; Microparticles of gelatin-collagen; Total-thickness skin wounds; Wound healing.