Histopathological investigation of wound healing activities of Lucilia sericata Larva and Achillea sintenisii extract combinations in diabetic rat wound model.
Chronic wounds, particularly in diabetic patients, represent a major clinical and economic burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Complementary therapies are increasingly integrated alongside conventional treatments to improve healing outcomes. Maggot debridement therapy (MDT), utilizing the larvae of Lucilia sericata, is a globally recognized method for treating non-healing wounds. These larvae secrete substances with antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Herbal remedies also play a role in chronic wound care, with various Achillea species traditionally used for medicinal purposes. This study investigated the wound healing effects of a pomade combining L. sericata larval secretions and Achillea sintenisii plant extract, compared to Furacin®, a commercial wound healing cream. Excisional wounds were created on diabetic Wistar albino rats, which were divided into four groups: DF (Furacin®), DM (L. sericata secretion), DA (A. sintenisii extract) and DM + DA (combined). Wound area, contraction rates and histological parameters were assessed at Days 0, 4, 8 and 12. Wound area decreased significantly across all groups over time (F = 511.9, p = 0.001), with mean values declining from 11.11 cm2 at Day 0 to 7.44 cm2 at Day 4, 4.93 cm2 at Day 8 and 2.01 cm2 at Day 12. Contraction rates rose progressively across all groups (F = 169.3, p = 0.001): at Day 4, contraction rates were 20.41% ± 1.24% (DF), 43.29% ± 3.96% (DM), 27.67% ± 0.94% (DA) and 42.22% ± 1.20% (DM + DA); at Day 8, rates increased to 42.86% ± 1.11% (DF), 63.34 ± 0.92% (DM), 52.97% ± 0.55% (DA) and 63.26% ± 0.52% (DM + DA) and at Day 12, the DM + DA group achieved the highest contraction rate of 92.91% ± 0.40%, significantly surpassing all other groups-DM (84.30% ± 0.88%), DA (79.43 ± 0.61%) and DF (71.77% ± 0.64%)-demonstrating a clear synergistic effect of the combined therapy (p < 0.05). Histological evaluation further corroborated these findings, with the DM + DA group consistently achieving the highest scores across all tissue repair parameters (epithelialization, fibroblast density, collagen deposition, angiogenesis and hair follicle regeneration), significantly superior to all other groups (p < 0.05). Taken together, these results confirm that the combination of L. sericata secretions and A. sintenisii extract exerts a synergistic wound healing effect superior to either agent alone or to Furacin® and could lead to the development of affordable, accessible and effective natural products for chronic wound care. These results may contribute to innovative treatment options in both veterinary and human medicine.