Abstract
About twenty percent of diabetic patients develop diabetic wounds and diabetic foot gradually resulting in severe infections and lower limb complications. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are potential candidates exploited for their wound healing properties. Nisin a class I bacteriocin having GRAS (Generally recognized as safe) status has been demonstrated to have wound healing effects. We established a diabetic wound excision model in rats via streptozotocin administration and evaluated the efficacy of nisin in pacing up wound healing in terms of wound closure parameters, collagen content, histopathological and topographical alterations, oxidant and antioxidative environment of wounded tissue, cytokines and growth factors expressions. Significant increase in the levels of hydroxyproline, hexosamine and hexuronic acid upon nisin therapy directly pointed towards the increased collagen content. Significant alterations in wound diameter, levels of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha and transcriptional levels of VEGF and EGF were observed in treated rats. H&E, picro-sirius red staining and scanning electron micrographic studies of treated skin tissues revealed the restoration of different layers of skin tissue along with increase in collagen content and skin regeneration. Biochemical parameters indicated increase in levels of antioxidants and reduced tlevels of free radicals upon therapy thereby improving the oxidative stress prevailing in wound microenvironment. The present study established nisin as a wound healing promoter in diabetes.