The study objective was assessment of wound healing traits of Valeriana officinalis and Chelidonium majus hydro-alcoholic (HA) extracts on surgical wounds in Wistar rats. The root parts of V. officinalis and C. majus were obtained and powdered. The HA extracts were separated using percolator and 96 degree alcohol during 24 hrs and kept in rotary device to concentrate the extract and next was dried in desiccator device. In addition, 24 Wistar rats with mean age of six months and 200 gr weight were adopted and maintained at same nutritional and environmental conditions (12 hrs of light and 12 hrs of darkness) for three weeks. The mice were divided into three groups including control, V. officinalis and C. majus HA extracts. The wound creation (2 cm diameter) was developed by initial intraperitoneal injection of anesthetic drugs (5% ketamine and 5mg/kg of diazepam) and hair shaving. After 24 hrs of wound creation, the treatment using ointment containing 5% of each V. officinalis and C. majus HA extract was implemented for 21 days. The wound imaging on days 4, 7, 14 and 21 was performed using a digital camera. Additionally, histopathologic examination of wounds was conducted on 4, 7, 14 and 21-day intervals following the euthanization of mice using thiopental sodium. The microscopic and macroscopic observations revealed significant higher wound healing rates in treated groups compared to the control. The histopathologic examinations inferred the sufficient angiogenesis, existence of collagen and fibroblast cells and decrease in the inflammatory cells. Moreover, wound contraction was observed in treated groups. Noticeably, the C. majus HA extract treated the wounds more efficiently than that of V. officinalis. The wound healing of Wistar rats using HA extracts from V. officinalis and C. majus was promising though more investigations are required. Additionally, C. majus HA extract had higher healing effect compared to that of V. officinalis. It is proposed to evaluate the cytotoxic levels of extracts and formulate them in future studies to achieve more efficient and rapid healing of wounds. In addition, combination of extracts from various herbal medicines and with synthetic drugs can be studied for wound healing.
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