Wound healing and anti-inflammatory effects of bacterial cellulose coated with Pistacia atlantica fruit oil.

Background: Biological activities of Pistacia atlantica have been investigated for few decades. The fruit oil of the plant has been used for treatment of wounds, inflammation, and other ailments in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM).

Objectives: The main objectives of this study were to analyze the chemical composition of Pistacia atlantica fruit oil and to study wound healing and anti-inflammatory effects of oil-absorbed bacterial cellulose in an in vivo burn wound model.

Method: Bacterial cellulose membrane was prepared from Kombucha culture and Fourier-transform infrared was used to characterize the bacterial cellulose. Cold press technique was used to obtain Pistacia atlantica fruit oil and the chemical composition was analyzed by gas chromatography. Bacterial cellulose membrane was impregnated with the Pistacia atlantica fruit oil. Pistacia atlantica hydrogel was prepared using specific Carbopol. Burn wound model was used to evaluate in vivo wound healing and anti-inflammatory effects of the wound dressings containing either silver sulfadiazine as positive control, Pistacia atlantica hydrogel or bacterial cellulose membrane coated with the Pistacia atlantica fruit oil. Blank dressing was used as negative control.

Results: FT-IR analysis showed that the structure of the bacterial cellulose corresponded with the standard FT-IR spectrum. The major components of Pistacia atlantica fruit oil constituted linoleic acid (38.1%), oleic acid (36.9%) and stearic acid (3.8%). Histological analysis showed that bacterial cellulose coated with fruit oil significantly decreased the number of neutrophils as a measure of inflammation compared to either negative control or positive control (p < 0.05). Wound closure occurred faster in the treated group with fruit oil-coated bacterial cellulose compared to the other treatments (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The results showed that bacterial cellulose coated with Pistacia atlantica fruit oil can be a potential bio-safe dressing for wound management.