title: Effects of the topical administration of copaiba oil ointment (Copaifera langsdorffii) in skin flaps viability of rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effects of copaiba oil ointment (Copaifera langsdorffii) on dorsal skin flaps in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult male rats (n=30) were distributed into three groups of ten animals each, as follows: GC--control; GCA--absolute control and GT--treated with copaiba ointment. The rats were subjected to dorsal cutaneous skin flap surgery and the animals from the GC and GT received post-operative treatment for eight consecutive days. The animals from the GCA group did not receive treatment while the animals from the GC group received daily topical treatment of ointment without the active ingredient and the animals from the GT group were daily treated with 10% copaiba oil ointment. At the end of each experimental period the lesions were evaluated according to the percentage of necrotic area. Then, fragments from cranial, median and caudal parts were fixed in Boüin's solution and processed for paraffin embedding. The morphology of histological sections (5µm) was evaluated and the number of leucocytes, fibroblasts and blood vessels was also analyzed. The data obtained were submitted to ANOVA test complemented by Tukey-Kramer test (p<0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The necrotic area was lower in the group treated with copaiba ointment when compared to the control groups (GCA>GC and GT), while the morphology showed larger granulation tissue with bulky fibroblasts and collagen fibers more arranged in the GT group. The morphometry showed a significant higher number of blood vessels in the median and caudal parts (GT>GCA and GC), leucocytes in the cranial part (GT>GC>GCA), and also fibroblasts in the median (GT and GC> GCA) and caudal parts (GT>GC and GCA) (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The copaiba oil ointment favors angiogenesis and accelerates the viability of random skin flaps in rats.
authors: Lígia Reis Moura
authors: LR
authors: Estevão
authors: Juliana Pinto de
authors: JP
authors: Medeiros
authors: Liriane
authors: L
authors: Baratella-Evêncio
authors: Ricardo Santos
authors: RS
authors: Simões
authors: Fábio de Souza
authors: Fde S
authors: Mendonça
authors: Joaquim
authors: J
authors: Evêncio-Neto
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000187:drug effects; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D009824:Ointments / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014022:Tissue Survival / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D009824:Ointments; D010938:Plant Oils