The Effect of Aqueous-Alcoholic Extract of Toothbrush Tree (Salvadora persica) on the Healing of Second-Degree Skin Burns in BALB/c Mice

Researchers have mentioned many beneficial effects for the compounds present in the toothbrush tree (Miswak) (Salvadora persica: SP); such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of aqueous-alcoholic extract of toothbrush tree on the wound healing of second-degree skin burns in BALB/c mice.

In this study, 60 mature mice (8 weeks) were used. The mice were divided into 5 groups of twelve. Groups 1 and 2 were respectively treated with concentrations of 5% and 10% of aqueous-alcoholic extract of the toothbrush plant, group3 was treated with silver sulfadiazine ointment (positive control), group4 was treated with Vaseline (negative control), and group 5 (sham) received no treatment. A second-degree circular burn wound with a diameter of 1 cm was made on the back of the animal. The first to fourth groups were dressed twice a day. On days 4, 7, 10 and 14, sampling was performed from the wounded site and wound healing was evaluated histopathologically.

Inflammation and infiltration of neutrophils and lymphocytes, being compared to the negative and sham control groups, were significantly reduced in the group treated with 10% SP extract (P<0.01); besides, on days 10 and 14 in the group treated with 10% and 5% SP extracts, the number of fibroblasts, followed by collagen production, epithelialization and formation of new hair follicles in the wound margins significantly increased compared to the negative control and sham group (P<0.05). The number of fibroblasts and collagen fiber density in the group treated with 10% SP extract, compared to the 5% extract group and silver sulfadiazine, showed a significant increase (P<0.05).

The findings showed that using extract of toothbrush plant accelerates the healing process of burn wounds.