Wound Healing Activity of an Essential Oil-Based Cream of Origanum vulgare L. on Mice

Background and Aim: The objective was to evaluate the effect of a cream based on the essential oil of Origanum vulgare on skin lesions induced in Mus musculus Balb/c. Materials and Methods: The experimental animals were divided into four groups of 6 specimens each, in which skin lesions of approximately 1 cm in diameter were induced. Group I (Control) received no treatment, Group II (0.1% Origanum vulgare cream), Group III (0.5% Origanum vulgare cream), and Group IV (1% Origanum vulgare cream) received treatment for eight days. Skin lesions were measured on days 4 and 7. At the end of treatment, they were euthanized using sodium pentobarbital 60 m/kg v.ip. Skin samples were obtained and preserved in 10% formalin for histopathological analysis. Results: When measuring the size of the skin lesions induced in the study groups, it was observed that in the control group, the decrease in the length of the lesions occurred on the fifth day; in group II, III, and IV, the lesions length decrease occurs on the second day. At the end of the experience, the measurements of the lesions were much smaller for the III and IV groups (0.33 and 0.41, respectively) compared to the control group (0.40 cm). On day seven, statistically significant difference was found on skin lesion measure between Group IV and the Control, with a significance level of p<0.05. Conclusion: It is concluded that the 1% Origanum vulgare essential oil-based cream has a healing effect on dermal lesions induced in Mus musculus Balb/c.