EFFECT OF ARNEBIA LEAF ON THE HEALING PROCESS OF RAT'S SECOND DEGREE BURN

Background: Regarding the current trend of turning attention towards the clinical application of herbal drugs in the healing of burn wounds, the present study was designed to evaluate the effect of Arnebia leaf on the healing process of second degree burn wounds in rat. Materials & Methods: After the production of a second degree burn covering 10% of total body surface area on 40 adult albino rats (weighing 220±30 g.) animals were divided into 4 groups: treatment group using herbs containing Arnebia leaf; treatment group using herbs containing no Arnebia leaf; silver sulphadiazine (SSD) treatment group and normal saline treated group. All groups were treated and controlled once a day up to the 30 th day that they decapitated for histological study of healing process (e.g. epidermal area density, blood vessel density and number in the area). Data analyses were done using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey tests. Results: Morphometric studies showed that herbal treatment group containing Arnebia leaf compared to herbal treatment group with no Arnebia leaf and SSD group for epidermal area density had a significant lower (P<0.0001 and P<0.002, respectively) and compared to no Arnebia leaf group a significane higher number and density of blood vessels (P<0.001 and P=0.004, respectively). Conclusion: This study shows that Arnebia leaf did not have any effect on healing of second degree burn wounds in rat's. More study were recommended for evaluating the effects of other parts of the plant on burn healing.