Carbohydrate-derived fulvic acid (CHD-FA) inhibits carrageenan-induced inflammation and enhances wound healing : efficacy and toxicity study in rats

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the safety and anti-inflammatory and wound healing characteristics of carbohydrate derived fulvic acid (CHD-FA) in rats. A daily oral dosage of CHD-FA at 100mg/kg and higher effectively reduced carrageenan-induced paw oedema in rats which was comparable to an oral dosage of 10mg/kg indomethacin. Furthermore, the topical application of CHD-FA formulated to contain 1.75% active product in an cetomicrogol cream at pH 1.98, compared favourably with fusidic acid cream (10mg/g) in accelerating the healing of excised wounds infected with S. aureus. No signs of toxicity were observed in rats during the 6-day acute and 6 month chronic oral treatment with CHD-FA at 100mg/Kg bodyweight. Topical application of CHD-FA, formulated in UEA cream and applied to the right ears of mice at 400mg/Kg bodyweight on days one, and 7 to 38 produced no adverse events. No signs of toxicity were observed in the teratogenicity study where CHD-FA was administered at 100mg/kg bodyweight to pregnant female mice by gavage 3 days before fertilization to 14 days of pregnancy. In conclusion, CHD-FA is a safe compound with anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties and merits further evaluation in the treatment of patients suffering from similar conditions.