Effect of Aloe vera application on the content and molecular arrangement of glycosaminoglycans during calcaneal tendon healing |
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| Authors: | Andrea Aparecida De Aro Marcelo Augusto Marretto Esquisatto Umar Nishan Mylena Oliveira Perez Rodney Alexandre Ferreira Rodrigues Mary Ann Foglio João Ernesto De Carvalho Laurecir Gomes Benedicto De Campos Vidal Edson Rosa Pimentel |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas‐UNICAMP, Campinas, S?o Paulo, Brazil;2. Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Herminio Ometto University Center (FHO/UNIARARAS), Araras, S?o Paulo, Brazil;3. Department of Biochemistry, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan;4. Chemical, Biological and Agricultural Pluridisciplinary Research Center (CPQBA), State University of Campinas‐UNICAMP, Campinas, S?o Paulo, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | Although several treatments for tendon lesions have been proposed, successful tendon repair remains a great challenge for orthopedics, especially considering the high incidence of re‐rupture of injured tendons. Our aim was to evaluate the pharmacological potential of Aloe vera on the content and arrangement of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) during tendon healing, which was based on the effectiveness of A. vera on collagen organization previously observed by our group. In rats, a partial calcaneal tendon transection was performed with subsequent topical A. vera application at the injury site. The tendons were treated with A. vera ointment for 7 days and excised on the 7th, 14th, or 21st day post‐surgery. Control rats received ointment without A. vera. A higher content of GAGs and a lower amount of dermatan sulfate were detected in the A. vera‐treated group on the 14th day compared with the control. Also at 14 days post‐surgery, a lower dichroic ratio in toluidine blue stained sections was observed in A. vera‐treated tendons compared with the control. No differences were observed in the chondroitin‐6‐sulfate and TGF‐β1 levels between the groups, and higher amount of non‐collagenous proteins was detected in the A. vera‐treated group on the 21st day, compared with the control group. No differences were observed in the number of fibroblasts, inflammatory cells and blood vessels between the groups. The application of A. vera during tendon healing modified the arrangement of GAGs and increased the content of GAGs and non‐collagenous proteins. Microsc. Res. Tech. 77:964–973, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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| Keywords: | ointment dichroic ratio proteoglycans injury non‐collagenous proteins |
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