Wound healing property of a gel prepared by the combination of Pseudomonas aeruginosa alginate and Alhagi maurorum aqueous extract in rats

Although alginate has been known to be a good wound dressing, it does not have antimicrobial properties, has low availability, and is expensive. To overcome these problems, the present study was conducted, where the extraction of this material from an available small factory Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the improvement of its wound healing property by its combination with herb extract, Alhagi maurorum, done. Nineteen P. aeruginosa strains were isolated and identified from burned skin, and the one isolated strain with the highest ability of alginate production was selected. A. maurorum aqueous extract was prepared, and the toxicity of each material was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. A mixture of nontoxic doses of each substance was then prepared. Thirty-two Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 8). The control group and the rest three groups, which were treated by alginate, A. maurorum extract, and alginate- A. maurorum extract. Throughout the 21 days of treatment, the open wound sites were checked. Finally, the rats were sacrificed and the effect of each substance on their skin tissue was evaluated. The results showed that the high alginate production without any toxic effect was obtained from the P. aeruginosa strain K1. A. maurorum aqueous extract had dose-dependent toxicity. The aqueous solution of alginate- A. maurorum extract complex group showed the best wound healing activity in both macroscopic and microscopic examinations. Recent research has introduced a new type of wound dressing with high wound healing properties. This could decrease the time for re-epithelialization and increase wound contraction percentage.