Thesis (M.Sc.)--Chulalongkorn University, 2008

This research was to study the effects of Acanthus ebracteatus Vahl. (AE) extract on the efficacy of collagen scaffold for wound healing. Balb/c mice (22-25 g) were used for this study. Animals were anesthetized with sodium thiopental (20µg/ml, intraperitoneally). The dorsal skin was cut with 1.5×1.5 cm2 size, in order to develop a full-thickness wound. Wounded animals were divided into 8 groups: wound treated with normal saline (W+NSS), wound treated with AE, 0.03, 0.3 and 3 g/kg bw, (W+AE0.03, W+AE0.3, and W+AE3), wound implanted with bovine collagen scaffold (W+Coll), and W+Coll treated with AE at 3 doses (W+Coll+AE0.03, W+Coll+AE0.3, and W+ Coll+AE3). On day 3, 7 and 14 post-wound-operation, the wound area was measured using Digital Image analysis (Image Pro-Plus, Media Cybernetics, Inc). On day 3, the number of neutrophil infiltration was counted using H&E staining. On day 7 and 14, the angiogenesis in the wound area of each group was examined using intravital fluorescence microscopy and represented by percentage of capillary vascularity (%CV). The re-epithelialization and the level of VEGF were analyzed from wound tissue samples using H&E staining and ELISA, respectively. The results showed that: 1) number of neutrophil infiltration in W+Coll group increased significantly as compared to W+NSS (p=0.03), but in W+Coll+AE0.3, it decreased significantly as compared to W+Coll (p=0.02). 2) On day 14, the wound closure of all groups increased significantly as compared to W+NSS. 3) Re-epithelialization in W+AE0.03 and W+Coll+AE0.3 increased significantly as compared to W+NSS (p=0.05). 4) In W+AE0.03 and W+Coll+AE0.3, the % CV increased significantly as compared to W+NSS (p=0.001, p=0.03). 5) On day 7, VEGF level increased in W+Coll+AE0.3, significantly as compared to W+Coll (p=0.01). The combined treatment of Acanthus ebracteatus Vahl. extract (0.3 g/kg bw) with bovine collagen scaffold has shown the most benefit effects on wound management, which were attributed through the reduction of neutrophil infiltration, enhanced re-epithelialization and neocapillarization, and finally lead to rapid wound closure.