An investigation on the healing response of burn wounds in a rabbit model using green tea extract ointment and hydrocolloid dressing

A second-degree burn damages the epidermis and part of the dermis, is extremely painful, and heals with weird scar tissue formation. It requires developing therapeutic options that prevent scar tissue formation, enabling smooth recovery, and are available. The study used green tea extract ointment and hydrocolloid dressing to assess healing efficacy, antimicrobial activity, and histological progression of second-degree burns in a rabbit model. Fifteen rabbits were assigned to three groups (Green Tea, Hydrocolloid, and Control) and inflicted with standardized deep second-degree burns using a heated 400 mm² iron plate. Wounds were measured every day using slide calipers and tracing paper. Tissues were collected, processed, and stained with H & E stain, and antimicrobial activity was evaluated by growing bacteria in culture. The green tea-treated group showed faster healing, and complete healing was achieved by 25.5±2.5 days, whereas in other groups it took a significantly longer time to heal. The wound treated with green tea showed a fairly good tendency of healing as characterized by complete epithelialization and keratinization over the injured skin. The newly grown epidermal extensions were seen over the underlying connective tissue with plenty of hair follicles when the biopsy was performed on day 14. By day 10, bacterial loads in green tea and hydrocolloid groups were decreased, whereas wounds in the control group remained infected, exhibiting minimal healing progress and an increase in bacterial load. In conclusion, green tea promoted better burn wound healing compared to hydrocolloid dressing in terms of lowering bacterial load, reducing wound size, and shortening healing times.