Comparison of St. John's wort oil and thiocilline ointment on wound healing in a diabetic rat model

Aims: In diabetic patients, wound healing is impaired and wounds are often infected with multifactorial agents. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of St. John’s wort and ointment containing bacitracin-neomycin (thiocilline) to improve wound healing in a diabetic infected wound model. Methods: Rats in which diabetes was induced by administering 60 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) were considered diabetic if their blood sugar levels were above 300 mg/dl 72 hours later. Group 1: Control (Non diabetic) group, Group 2: Diabetes group. During wound care, both groups were disinfected with povidone iodine (PI) and the right lumbar region of each rat was dressed with thiocilline and the left lumbar region was dressed with St. John’s wort oil. Considering the wound healing period, the study was terminated after an average of 20 days. In histopathological examination, ulceration, necrosis, epithelialization, congestion, edema, polymorphous nucleated leukocyte (PNL), monocyte, fibroblast, and neovascularization were evaluated. Results: In histopathological evaluation, there was a statistically significant decrease in ulceration and necrosis in the group treated with St. John’s wort oil compared to the group given thiocilline (p=0.04). In terms of epithelialization, there was a statistically significant increase in the group dressed with St. John’s wort oil compared to the group given thiocilline (p=0.03). There was a statistically significant decrease in congestion and edema in the group treated with St. John’s wort oil compared to the group given thiocilline (p=0.03). There was a statistically significant increase in fibroblast and neovascularization in the group treated with St. John’s wort oil compared to the group given thiocilline (p=0.02). Conclusion: Histopathologic ally, epithelialization, fibroblast, and neovascularization, which have important functions in the wound healing process, increased in diabetic rats administered St. John’s wort. Although it is used in traditional medicine due to its antidepressant effectiveness, we believe that St. John’s wort can be used in wounds that develop in diabetic patients, as it has the potential to increase the wound healing process.