Histometric and histophatologic evaluation of the effects of Equistum arvense herbal extract versus Zinc Oxide in rabbit skin wound healing model

Equistum arvense, also called horsetail has been widely used in traditional medicine for wound healing due to having free silica. Also this plant has an important role in enhancing skin elasticity and resistance, and can be effective in restoration of tissue after cell death. The aim of this work was to evaluate histometrically and histopathologically the ability of dried extract ointment of Equistem arvense in enhancing the healing process of full- thickness excisional skin wound in rabbits following topical application, compared with zinc oxide ointment. Under surgical anesthesia, full thickness similar excisional wounds were made on the back of 40 rabbits that were divided into 4 groups of Equistum arvense 20%, zinc oxide ointment, eucerin, and control. A double-blind method was employed throughout the study. All the cases were treated with topical ointments daily for 28 days. Healing process of the wounds were quantified daily and compared using digital photography and image analysis software. Histopathologic examination was performed on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 and the wound healing was scored using healing grades I to VI with regard to the wound healing parameters such as oedema, congestion & hemorrhage, fibroplasia, epithelium regeneration, wound contraction, collagen deposition and granulation tissue maturation. The overall out come of the wound recovery for each individual group was calculated, and the results were put under statistical analysis using SPSS software. According to histometric findings, the skin contraction rate in equistum arvense 20% group on treatment period was much higher than that in the other groups. Also, histopathologic results revealed that overall healing rate into group I in the second and third weeks was higher than that in the other groups (p