Influence of immunonutritional supplementation on skin wound healing in rats

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

The wound healing process is immediate and dynamic in order to restore anatomical and functional continuity, and there must be conditions for this process, which include a normal nutritional state. Among the existing supplemental formulas, immuno-enhancing diets have been proposed to improve the wound healing process and patients’ clinical conditions. The influence of an immunomodulating diet (Impact^®) on different variables of the skin healing process was evaluated.

Method:

Healthy adult rats were randomly divided into four groups of diet supplementation or control. Two groups received their diets only pre-operatively while the other two groups received theirs perioperatively. Rats were subjected to three types of skin lesions. We evaluated the following aspects: changes in weight, development of raw areas, tensiometry of incisional wounds, re-epithelialization rates, and histological parameters.

Results:

There was no difference in weight changes. There was better closing rates of excisional wounds in groups supplemented with Impact^® beginning on the fifth day after surgery (p = 0.02). The groups receiving the dietary supplements obtained the best results in tensiometry (p = 0.03), re-epithelialization rates (p = 0.04), differential cell counts (p < 0.001), and total amount of collagen (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

The study diet (Impact^®) promoted better closure rates of raw wounds, faster re-epithelialization, scars with a greater tensile strength, and greater amounts of total collagen in wounds. There was no difference in any of the parameters analyzed compared with the groups supplemented with Impact^® preand perioperatively.

Keywords:
Immunomodulation; Immunonutrition; Wound healing; Immunomodulatory diet