Efeito do óleo de pequi na modulação do processo inflamatório e aceleração da reparação tecidual em queimaduras de pele em camundongos Balb-c

Abstract

The human skin can be affected by lesions that partially or totally compromise its functions. These injuries can be caused by burns that lead to damage that may be irreversible, making it important to study substances that accelerate tissue regeneration, especially a Brazilian fruit called pequi (Caryocar brasiliense), which has healing and anti-inflammatory properties. To evaluate the therapeutic action of pequi oil in skin tissue repair, a burn was performed on the back of Balb/C mice, which were treated (Treated) or not (Control) topically with pequi oil, and sacrificed 7,14 and 21 days. Peripheral blood was collected from the animals for the quantification of leukocytes and a fragment of the wound region was collected, fixed and histologically processed for the performance of several histopathological analyses. A potential of pequi oil in accelerating wound contraction in treated animals was verified, in addition to a greater amount of myofibroblasts in this group, and a better re-epithelialization of the epidermis at the burn site, possibly due to the fatty acids present in pequi oil that promote the production of factors that accelerate wound contraction, including through the activation of dermal myofibroblasts. In addition, treatment with pequi oil promoted a significant increase in leukocytes in the bloodstream, indicating that pequi is somehow inhibiting the diapedesis of these cells to the injured tissue, attenuating the local inflammatory process and increasing the efficiency of tissue repair. Pequi oil seems to act by regulating the amount of mast cells (mainly degranulated) in the injured tissue during the initial phases of tissue repair (7 and 14 days), and in the modulation of collagen in the dermis of treated animals, which may be related to the lower tissue inflammation seen in this group, bringing benefits to the tissue repair process. All these results lead us to conclude that pequi oil acts extremely positively in the tissue repair process in skin burns, demonstrating the potential of this product from the Brazilian cerrado as an alternative and low-cost medicine.