Phenolic, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and In-vivo Wound Healing Properties of Potentilla erecta L. Root Extract in Diabetic Rats

As stated in many ethnobotany studies, Potentilla genus is traditionally used in the treatment of wound healing. In this study, we aimed to investigate to time-course effects of the methanolic extract of Potentilla erecta (P. erecta) (MEPE) on diabetic wounds. The subject of the experiments was 36 Wistar rats, divided into three main groups: non-diabetic control (NDM), diabetic control (STZ-DM), and P. erecta-treated (MEPE). Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ). Full-thickness excisional skin wounds were opened in rats. The wounds were treated with P. erecta root extract in the MEPE groups. The wound area, wound contraction rate, collagen, thiobarbituric-acid reactive substances (TBARs), nitric oxide (NOx), and glutathione (GSH) levels in wound tissue were determined for the evaluation of the wound healing on days 0, 3 and 7. Phenolic compounds of MEPE were determined by RP-HPLC-UV. The antioxidant properties were spectrophotometrically determined and the antibacterial properties were tested using the microwell-dilution method. Our results demonstrated that MEPE significantly increased wound contraction rate compared to the STZ-DM group on days 3 and 7. MEPE treated rats showed a statistical increase in the levels of NOx, GSH, collagen and a statistical decrease in the levels of TBARs. Our results, for the first time, may indicate that P. erecta root extract improves and accelerates diabetic wound healing and also alters oxidative events.