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Aims: Thymus plant is a very useful herbal medicine with various properties such as anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. Therefore, the properties of this plant have made this drug a suitable candidate for wound healing. In this study, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) gel containing Zataria multiflora volatile oil nanoemulsion (neZM) along with polycaprolactone/chitosan (PCL-CS) nanofibrous scaffold was used, and the effect of three experimental groups on the wound healing process was evaluated. The first group, HPMC gel containing neZM, the second group, PCL-CS nanofibers, and the third group, HPMC gel containing neZM and bandaged with PCL-CS nanofibers (PCL-CS/neZM). Wounds bandaged with common sterile gas were considered as control., Methods: The nanoemulsion was synthesized by a spontaneous method and loaded into a hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) gel. The DLS test investigated the size of these nanoemulsions. A PCL-CS nanofibrous scaffold was also synthesized by electrospinning method then SEM and contact angle tests investigated morphology and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of its surface. The animal study was performed on full-thickness skin wounds in rats, and the process of tissue regeneration in the experimental and control groups was evaluated by H&E and Masson's trichrome staining., Results: The results showed that the nanoemulsion has a size of 225±9 nm and has an acceptable dispersion. The PCL-CS nanofibers synthesized by the electrospinning method also show non-beaded smooth fibers and due to the presence of chitosan with hydrophilic properties, have higher surface hydrophobicity than PCL fibers. The wound healing results show that the PCL-CS/neZM group significantly reduced the wound size compared to the other groups on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days. The histological results also show that the PCL-CS/neZM group could significantly reduce the parameters of edema, inflammation, and vascularity and increase the parameters of fibrosis, re-epithelialization, and collagen deposition compared to other groups on day 21., Conclusion: The results of this study show that the PCL-CS/neZM treatment can effectively improve wound healing., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Using nanoparticles containing L. citriodora EO and citral has shown potential in treating skin disorders such as melanoma., Methods: In this study, GC‒MS was used to analyze the chemical composition of L. citriodora essential oil (EO). The ion gelation method prepared free chitosan nanoparticles and chitosan nanoparticles containing L. citriodora EO and citral. The successful loading of the EO and citral was evaluated using ATR-FTIR. The DPPH assay measured the antioxidant effect of citral, L. citriodora EO, Citral-ChiNPs, L. citriodora-ChiNPs, and Free-ChiNPs. A375 melanoma cell viability was assessed using the MTT assay. The qPCR technique was employed to evaluate the expression of apoptotic genes, and flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis., Results: This study showed that in equal concentrations, the antioxidant properties of chitosan nanoparticles containing citral were greater than those of chitosan nanoparticles containing L. citriodora. The IC50 values of chitosan nanoparticles containing citral, L. citriodora EO, and their nonformulated states were 105.6, 199.9, 136.9, and 240 µg/ml, respectively. The gene expression results showed that the ratio of the expression of the apoptosis gene to the inhibitory gene was higher than 1 in all the samples, indicating that the conditions for apoptosis were present. Flow cytometry confirmed cell apoptosis, with 93.5 ± 0.3% in chitosan nanoparticles containing citral, 80 ± 0.2% in chitosan nanoparticles containing L. citriodora EO, 63 ± 0.3 in citral, and 42.03% in L. citriodora EO-treated cells., Conclusion: The results showed that using the Nano form of L. citriodora and citral increased their efficiency in apoptosis pathways and their toxicity against 375 melanoma cancer cells., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Cinnamon is one of the most common spices that has been studied for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties in wound healing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of polycaprolactone nanofiber mats coated with chitosan microcapsules loaded with cinnamon essential oil in wound healing., Material and Methods: For this purpose, chitosan microcapsules containing cinnamon essential oil (µCS-CiZ) were prepared by ion gelation and PCL nanofibers by electrospinning. The size of the µCS-CiZ and the morphology of nanofibers were evaluated by DLS and FESEM methods. In order to evaluate wound healing, 48 rats in 4 groups of Control, µCS-CiZ, PCL, and PCL + µCS-CiZ and were examined on days 7, 14, and 21 in terms of macroscopy (wound closure rate) and histology (edema, inflammation, vascularity, fibrotic tissue, and re-epithelialization)., Results: The particle size of the µCS-CiZ and the diameter of the nanofibers were estimated at about 6.33 ± 1.27 μm and 228 ± 33 nm, respectively. On day 21, both µCS-CiZ and PCL groups showed a significant decrease in wound size compared to the control group (P < 0.001). The PCL + µCS-CiZ group also showed a significant decrease compared to the µCS-CiZ (P < 0.05) and PCL groups (P < 0.05). Histological results showed further reduction of edema, inflammation, and vascularity in granulation tissue and appearance of moderate to marked fibrotic tissue in PCL + µCS-CiZ group compared with the other groups., Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the combined use of PCL + µCS-CiZ indicates a synergistic effect on improving wound healing., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Melanoma and breast cancers are two common cancers worldwide. Due to the side effects of chemotherapy drugs and the occurring resistance against them, the development of green drugs has been received more attention., Methods: The anticancer effects of three essential oils from the Citrus family and their identified major constituents (limonene) were first investigated against melanoma and breast cancer cell lines (A-375 and MDA-MB-468). By preparing chitosan nanoparticles containing them, an attempt was then made to improve their effectiveness., Results: Chitosan nanoparticles containing Citrus sinensis and Citrus limon essential oils with IC 50 s of 0.03 and 0.124 μg/mL on A-375 cells, and 23.65 and 40.32 μg/mL on MDA-MB-468 showed distinct anticancer efficacies., Conclusion: The prepared formulations could thus be considered as green anticancer agents in complementary medicine and therapies.

Cancer, with the arising rate in developed and developing countries, was the 2nd cause of mortality in 2019; one of the greatest concerns is thus drug resistance in different cancers. Recently, essential oils, have been received more attention for preparing new drugs. In this study, a (Carvacrol-rich essential oil) and Carvacrol were first successfully entrapped in chitosan nanoparticles. A comprehensive comparison was then conducted on cytotoxic effects of non-formulated samples and the prepared nanoformulations on two cancer cell lines (A-375 and MDA-MB-468). The particle sizes of the prepared nanoformulation were 196 ± 8 and 211 ± 13 nm, respectively. The cytotoxic effect of chitosan nanoparticles containing Satureja khuzistanica essential oil (IC50 = 78.8 µg/mL) was more potent than other samples on A-375 cells (human melanoma cancer). However, chitosan nanoparticles containing Carvacrol indicated a more potent anticancer effect than other samples (IC50 = 43.5 µg/mL). As the nanoformulations promising efficacies and green constituents, they are thus good candidates for further research in animal models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]