title: Efficacy of Acorus calamus on collagen maturation on full thickness cutaneous wounds in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The rhizomes of Acorus calamus and their essential oil are widely used in the flavoring industry and production of alcoholic beverages in Europe. Recent reports have confirmed the presence of several pharmacological components in the rhizomes of A. calamus.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to find out the efficacy of topical administration of ethanolic extract of A. calamus on dermal wound healing in rats. Wound healing is a natural process occurring in living organisms, which results in a complete or partial remodeling of injured tissue and ultimately progresses to the formation of a fibrous scar. Several natural products have been reported to augment the wound healing process.
  
  
  METHODS
  An ethanolic extract of A. calamus was prepared and its wound-healing efficacy was studied. An excision wound was made on the back of the rat and 200 μL (40 mg/kg body weight) of the A. calamus extract was applied topically once daily for the treated wounds. The control wounds were treated with 200 μL of phosphate buffered saline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The granulation tissues formed were removed at 4, 8 and 12 days and biochemical parameters such as deoxyribonucleic acid, total protein, total collagen, hexosamine and uronic acids were measured. The amount of type I/III collagen formed in control and treated wound tissues was evaluated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The epithelialization time, tensile strength and histological examination of the wounds were also studied. Biochemical analyses of the granulation tissues revealed a significant increase in collagen, hexosamine and uronic acid when compared with the control. The tensile strength of extract treated wounds was found to increase by 112%. A significant reduction in lipid peroxide levels suggested that A. calamus possesses antioxidant components.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results strongly confirm the beneficial effects of A. calamus in augmenting the wound healing process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Leather Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Thangavel
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ponrasu
authors.affiliation: Shirmpex Biotech Services, SSN College of Engineering, Kalavakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Karuppanan Natarajan
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Madhukumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Leather Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Moorthy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ganeshkumar
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Division, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Leather Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Kuttalam
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iyappan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Leather Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Vilvanathan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sangeethapriya
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, SSN College of Engineering, Kalavakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Vinaya Subramani
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Gayathri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Leather Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Lonchin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Suguna
keywords: Acorus calamus; collagen; epithelialization; sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; tensile strength; wound healing