Jatropha neopauciflora is an endemic species of Mexico. Its latex is used to treat wounds, scarring, oral infections, and loose teeth. To date, there are no studies that validate at a morphological level a wound-healing use in diabetes. The present research aimed to evaluate the wound-healing capacity of the latex of J. neopauciflora in the skin of healthy and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Also, a chemical analysis of the latex through molecular exclusion chromatography and HPLC were performed. Male mice (Mus musculus) of 7-week-old CD1 strain were used. Groups of healthy and diabetic mice were formed. A longitudinal cut of 1 cm was performed on the depilated skin. All treatments were topically applied to the wound area twice a day for ten days. At the end of the experiments, the skin sections were obtained from the wound area and stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin. Then we counted the number of active fibroblasts in all the experimental groups. In normal mice, the latex accelerated the wound-healing process and decreased the number of active fibroblasts, similarly to Recoveron. In diabetic mice, the latex and Recoveron increased the number of active fibroblasts. In normal and diabetic mice, a thin and orderly epidermis was observed. Molecular exclusion chromatography exhibited 58 fractions, 14 of which were subjected to HPLC, to detect catechin, a flavonoid with antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. J. neopauciflora latex can be useful for wound treatment in patients with diabetes mellitus because it accelerates and promotes the wound-healing process.
Keywords: Euphorbiaceae; Jatropha neopauciflora; Tehuacan-Cuicatlan valley; diabetes mellitus; medicinal plants; wound-healing.