In vitro Wound Healing Potential of Petroleum Ether Extracts from Litsea garciae Fruit Pulp and Seeds

Abstract

This study explores Litsea garciae’s (L. garciae) untapped wound healing potential, despite its traditional medicinal use. The current study aimed to elucidate the essential role of lipids in the wound healing process by evaluating the effects of L. garciae petroleum ether (PE) lipid extracts on human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cell line. The cytotoxicity of PE lipid extracts on the HDF was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. An in vitro study on the migration of HDF was performed using the wound scratch assay while the chemotactic motility of HDF was conducted by the transwell assay. The effects of L. garciae extracts on the expression levels of collagen type I and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were assessed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The MTT assay showed that PE lipid extracts (for pulp, 7.5 – 250 μg/mL and for seed, 7.5 to 500 μg/mL) were non-cytotoxic to HDF cells. Both extracts promoted cell migration, with 31.25 μg/mL pulp extract exhibited the highest wound closure rate (91.27 ± 8.35%) at 24 h, and 7.5 μg/mL seed extract significantly enhanced closure (90.62 ± 3.12%). The transwell assay indicated increased chemotactic motility when the HDF cells were treated with lipid extracts. Collagen type I synthesis improved in both pulp and seed lipid extracts. The pulp extracts enhanced EGF secretion at various concentrations, while the seed extracts showed no improvement. The study highlights L. garciae extracts’ potential in wound healing by facilitating cell migration, collagen synthesis, and EGF secretion.