The effect of topical honey dressing on wound healing in diabetic mice

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the effect of topical application of honey on wound healing in diabetic mice. Materials and Methods: Twenty-seven Swiss mice were used for the study, in which diabetes was induced via streptozotocin. Full-thickness skin defects 1 cm in diameter were created on both sides on the backs of the animals. The defects on the left side comprised the experimental group, whereas those on the right side were used as controls. Left-sided defects were treated with honey, while right-sided wounds were treated with isotonic sodium chloride. The mice were sacrificed on days 3, 6, and 9. All wounds were histopathologically evaluated according to the thickness of the granulation tissue and the distance of epithelization covered from the normal skin edge into the wound. The wound areas were calculated using 3D-DOCTOR (Trial Version, Able Software Corp., USA) software. A paired-sample t test was used for analysis. Results: When the region treated with honey was compared with the control region on the same animal, the wound area was significantly smaller (Day 3 p<0.001, Day 6 p<0.05, Day 9 p<0.01) and epithelization advancement was significantly greater (Day 3 p<0.05, Day 6 p<0.05, Day 9 p<0.001), but the thickness of the granulation tissues was not significantly different (Day 3, 6, 9 p>0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that topical application of honey has a positive influence on wound healing, via facilitating wound contraction and epithelization in diabetic mice.