Ann Plast Surg 2013 Oct;71(4):415-20
From the *Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Departments of †Internal Medicine, ‡Diagnostic Radiology, and §Pathology, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, Daegu, Republic of Korea; ∥Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of Korea; Departments of ¶Chemisty, and #Agronomy, Research Institute of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea; **Department of Physiology, Institute of Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea; and ††Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Anthocyanins are known to have antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects. We hypothesized that anthocyanins would enhance wound healing in Sprague-Dawley rats. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our hypothesis and investigate the mechanism of wound healing enhancement. The cytoprotective effect of an immortalized epidermal keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) and human neonatal dermal fibroblasts in response to various concentrations of anthocyanins was determined. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) of HaCaT were measured by Western blot analysis. Anthocyanins were applied to the wounds in rats, and the healing ratio was calculated. Tissue VEGF, TSP1, CD31, nuclear factor-κB, and phosphorylation of IκBα were measured. The viability of the HaCaT cell line and human neonatal dermal fibroblasts increased under cytotoxicity by H2O2 in the anthocyanin-treated groups. The VEGF in the anthocyanin-treated groups increased, whereas TSP1 decreased. Wounds in the experimental groups healed faster, and VEGF and CD31 increased in the experimental groups, whereas TSP1 decreased. Anthocyanins inhibited the translocation of nuclear factor-κB (p65) from cytosol to nucleus and also prevented the phosphorylation of IκBα. Anthocyanins enhance wound healing through a cytoprotective effect, enhancement of angiogenesis, and an antiinflammatory effect.