EJMS

Abstract

Background: Skin is the largest organ of the body, it protects the body against injury and infection, regulates body temperature, absorbs ultraviolet radiation, which is necessary for synthesis of vitamin D and contains receptors for touch, temperature, and pain. Pumpkin is one of the well-known edible plants and has medicinal properties including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic and others, which have been well documented. Aim of the work: The present work aimed to evaluate the effect of pumpkin seed oil (PSO) treatment on the histological changes of injured skin. Material and methods: Thirty adult male albino rats, three months old weighing 170–200 g. were used in the present study. They were divided into six equal groups (5N); the control group (GI) and five injured skin groups. Two deep skin incisions were done on the back of the injured groups, one on the left side; left without treatment (subgroup a) and the other on the right side painted immediately and daily by PSO (subgroup b). Skin samples were taken from the animals after six hours (GII), one day (GIII), three days (GIV), seven days (GV), and ten days (GVI) to be processed for preparation of paraffin sections. Alternative slides were stained with H&E, Masson’s trichrome, PAS and toluidine blue in addition to Immunohistochemical technique (Avidin-biotin peroxidase stain) for detection of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the skin of the different groups. Morphometrical studies were performed to measure the area percentage of collagen fibers in the dermis, the mean thickness of the basement membrane and the optical density of the VGEF in the epidermis then statistically evaluated in the all groups. Results: Different degrees of wound healing signs (re-epithelization, granulation tissue formation, cellular infiltration and new collagen formation) could be detected with different degrees in the different groups. Topical treatment of PSO enhanced the healing processes and promoted a faster formation of granulation tissue and epithelial regeneration than those of the untreated groups did. Conclusions: This study showed the significance of PSO as a promising drug for wound healing in animals.