Effects of medicinal mushroom (Sparassis crispa) on wound healing in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

BackgroundThe impaired wound healing in diabetes mellitus is a major clinical problem. Sparassis crispa (SC) is a medicinal mushroom and its β-glucan content is more than 40%. This study investigated whether oral administration of SC could improve the impaired wound healing in diabetic rats.MethodsFull-thickness skin wounds were created on the backs of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetic rats were then divided into 2 groups: SC-treated group that was orally administered doses of 1,000 mg/kg body weight per day of SC for 4 weeks and a control group without SC administration. Moreover, collagen synthesis of purified β-glucan from SC was estimated in vitro.ResultsWound closure was significantly accelerated by oral administration of SC. Furthermore, in SC-treated wounds there were significant increases in macrophage and fibroblast migration, collagen regeneration, and epithelialization compared with the control group. The levels of type I collagen synthesized by cultured human dermal fibroblasts for the SC group were significantly higher than those for the control group.ConclusionsSC can improve the impaired healing of diabetic wounds. This effect might involve an increase in the migration of macrophages and fibroblasts, and β-glucan from SC directly increases the synthesis of type I collagen. Therefore, the use of SC may be extended to the clinical setting and prove an effective promoter of wound healing in patients with diabetes.