Potential Pharmacological Ability of a Novel Marine Polysaccharide Extracted from Tunisian Green Algae Chaetomorpha aerea to Accelerate Dermal Wound Healing in Rats.

Abstract

Background: Bacterial infection and oxidative stress generation are significant obstacles to dermal wound healing. The present study undertakes the isolation of a sulfated polysaccharide from the Tunisian green algal "Chaetomorpha aerea" named PCA.

Methods: The polysaccharide PCA was structurally characterized using Fourier Transformed Infrared (FT-IR), and monosaccharide analysis was carried out by HPLC-FID X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The antioxidant potential of polysaccharides extracted from the Chaetomorpha area was evaluated in vitro using various antioxidant assays, and the antibacterial activity of PCA against four Gram-negative bacteria was estimated. The wound healing capacity of PCA was evaluated in vivo using an excision wound model in rats.

Results: FT-IR spectra revealed the characteristic bands of polysaccharides. HPLC-FID revealed a heteropolysaccharide composed of arabinose, glucose, glucuronic acid, and galactose units. Indeed, the X-ray diffraction revealed a semi-crystalline structure of PCA. The obtained data showed a strong antioxidant capacity and an interesting antibacterial activity against four-gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These biological data strongly support the beneficial effects of PCA in accelerating wound healing in rats. The in vivo study on rats demonstrated that PCA significantly accelerated the wound healing process over an 11-day treatment period. The application of PCA on wounds led to enhanced collagen fiber synthesis, as evidenced by histological staining, which showed increased collagen deposition at the wound site. Additionally, PCA treatment resulted in faster wound closure, with measurements showing a marked reduction in wound size compared to control groups.

Conclusion: The present study highlights the promising pharmacological effects of PCA, suggesting its potential application in wound dressings due to its robust antioxidant, antibacterial, and wound-healing properties.