Determination of the effects of bovine colostrum-based gel on wound healing in the excisional wound model of rats

This study was conducted on 27 rats obtained from the Local Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. The rats were randomly divided into three groups, with nine rats in each group. Group NC was designated as the negative control group and administered a 0.9% isotonic saline solution. Group CG was evaluated as the treatment group and was administered a colostrum-based gel (Vita-Enriched Colostrum Gel, Environ, South Africa). Group BG was designated as the positive control group and was administered BepanJel wound healing gel (BepanJel®, Bayer, Istanbul). The treatments were applied daily to the wounds for 14 days, and dressings were applied. Wound sizes were measured on days 3, 7, and 14 to assess macroscopic healing. On the same days, samples were taken from the wounds for histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses. Notably, on day 14, the wound surface areas in the CG and BG groups were found to be significantly lower than those in the NK group (p<0.05). In the histopathological evaluation, it was observed that epithelialization, fibrosis, and angiogenesis findings were more pronounced in the CG and BG groups, while inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced (p <0.05). Picro Sirius Red staining revealed that the most mature and organized collagen fibers were present in the BG group, while moderate collagen accumulation was observed in the CG group. In immunohistochemical analyses, it was observed that Caspase-3 and TNF-α expression decreased in the CG group compared to the NK group, while TGF-α and VEGF expression increased. These changes were more pronounced in the BG group.