Abietic acid, an active component of pine rosin extract, enhances diabetic wound healing through angiogenesis and activation of key signaling pathways

Abstract Diabetes mellitus is characterized by persistent hyperglycemia, which leads to complications in wound healing, such as prolonged inflammation, reduced angiogenesis, and impaired cellular proliferation. These complications result in chronic wounds, which are prone to infection and difficult to heal. The chronic nature of diabetic wounds, compounded by increased oxidative stress and accumulation of advanced glycation end-products, requires the development of effective therapeutic strategies to enhance wound healing in patients with diabetes. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore novel and safer therapeutic approaches for diabetic wound management. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of abietic acid, a major component of pine rosin, for enhancing wound healing under high-glucose conditions. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice were used in this study. The effects of abietic acid on cell viability, angiogenesis, and key signaling pathways (protein kinase B, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, p38, and vascular endothelial growth factor) were assessed in vitro, and wound closure was evaluated in vivo. Abietic acid promoted angiogenesis and activated key signaling pathways in vitro. In vivo, abietic acid significantly accelerated wound closure, with the wound area reduced by 93.3% at day 10 compared with 46.5% in controls. These findings suggest that abietic acid can be a beneficial agent for diabetic wound healing and warrants further investigation. Future studies will aim to optimize dosing, examine inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, and validate efficacy in type 2 diabetes models to strengthen clinical translation. Graphical abstract