Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Aroeira) leaves oil attenuates inflammatory responses in cutaneous wound healing in mice

Purpose: To investigated the inflammatory, angiogenic and fibrogenic activities of the Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi leaves oil (STRO) on wound healing. Methods: The excisional wound healing model was used to evaluate the effects of STRO. The mice were divided into two groups: Control, subjected to vehicle solution (ointment lanolin/vaseline base), or STRO-treated group, administered topically once a day for 3, 7 and 14 days post-excision. We evaluated the macroscopic wound closure rate; the inflammation was evaluated by leukocytes accumulation and cytokine levels in the wounds. The accumulation of neutrophil and macrophages in the wounds were determined by assaying myeloperoxidase and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase activities. The levels of TNF-alpha, CXCL-1 and CCL-2 in wound were evaluated by ELISA assay. Angiogenesis and collagen fibers deposition were evaluated histologically. Results: We observed that macroscopic wound closure rate was improved in wounds from STRO-group than Control-group. The wounds treated with STRO promoted a reduction in leucocyte accumulation and in pro-inflammatory cytokine. Moreover, STRO treatment increased significantly the number of blood vessels and collagen fibers deposition, as compared to control group. Conclusion: Topical application of STRO display anti-inflammatory and angiogenic effects, as well as improvement in collagen replacement, suggesting a putative use of this herb for the development of phytomedicines to treat inflammatory diseases, including wound healing.