In Vivo Evaluation of topical marine gel from ethanolic extract of Eucheuma cottonill for burn wound healing activity on healthy mice

Burn wounds are one of the most common injuries and may cause undesirable permanent scars. Burn wounds are dynamic and as such, impeded healing or risk of infection could be possible if it is not managed well. The aim of this research was to evaluate the potential burn wound healing properties of topical gel containing ethanolic extract of Eucheuma cottonii on mice. A four millimetre in diameter of burn wound was made using a hot metal rod at the dorsal region of healthy mice. The topical gel containing ethanolic extract ofE. cottonii was applied onto induced excised burn wounds on healthy mice. The healing activity was observed up to 12 days after wounding the mice in terms of wound closure and tissue regeneration. The treatment was compared to that of organic honey and povidone iodine gel, which were used as positive control. Results showed that treatment with topical gel containing ethanolic extract was significantly better in healing burn wounds than the positive control of organic honey and commercial povidone iodine gel. The accelerated wound healing result of this ethanolic extract gel suggests thatE. cottonii could have cell proliferation properties. This finding implies that ethanolic extract ofE. cottonii could be used for cosmeceutical purposes infighting ageing skin in the future by facilitating epidermal cell proliferations.