The synergistic effect of topical insulin and clindamycin on acute dermal wound healing in rat model: a histological study

Reducing the duration of wound healing is important to decrease the chance of infection. Insulin as a peptide hormone has a role in wound healing. Also, the use of clindamycin in the treatment of skin wounds has been studied very little. The aim of this study was to evaluate the synergistic effect of insulin and clindamycin on full-thickness wound healing. In this study, 24 Wistar rats (weight 180-200 g) were randomly divided into four equal groups: control (Eucerin), clindamycin, insulin, and insulin + clindamycin. Drugs were administered in the form of an ointment daily for twelve days. Wound healing rate and wound criteria such as epithelialization, neovascularization, collagen deposition, inflammation, and tissue granulation were investigated histologically on days 3, 7, and 14. The wound healing rate in the insulin + clindamycin group was significantly higher than the other groups on day 7 but there was no significant difference between groups on day 14. In addition, the combination of insulin and clindamycin had a beneficial effect on reducing inflammation and increasing collagen deposition, fibroblast maturation, neovascularization, and keratinization. The data showed that the topical application of insulin with clindamycin has an effective role in full-thickness wound healing by reducing inflammation and accelerating wound closure.