Effect of berberine on wound healing in experimental animal model

Introduction: Lack of effective drugs for wound healing necessitates the need to study the potential of herbal drugs in wound healing. Berberine has antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antiplatelet, antioxidant and thrombolytic properties which would be supplementary in wound healing mechanism. Hence, berberine deserves a study to confirm its effect on wound healing in experimental animal.
Materials and methods: Wistar rats were divided into two groups, (n=6 each group) and a wound was created which was treated with petroleum jelly in group A and petroleum jelly based berberine cream in group B. The wound healing and epithelisation of wound was evaluated at day 4,8,12,16 and 20.
Results: Group A showed an average wound size of 348±13.0 on day 4, 278±10.5 on day 8, 119±9.8 on day 12, 86±9.2 on day 16 and 100% wound healing was observed day 20 onwards. Group B showed an average wound measurement of 296±10.0 on day 4, 192±10.0 on day 8, 86±9.6 on day 12 and complete wound healing was observed day 16 onwards in the test group.
Conclusion: Berberine can be the potential drug for enhancing wound healing in normal being and also in diabetic. Due to its antidiabetic potential it can be more promising for diabetic wounds.