Wound Healing Activity of Topical Formulations Containing Mauritia flexuosa Oil

The wound healing potential of a topical herbal formulation containing “buriti” oil ( Mauritia flexuosa L.f., Arecaceae) in a liquid crystalline phase consisting of “murumuru” ( Astrocaryum murumuru Mart., Arecaceae) butter was evaluated. The fatty acid composition of “buriti” oil and murumuru butter was determined by gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detection, which revealed that the major component of Mauritia flexuosa oil was oleic acid (70.4%), followed by palmitic acid (17.4%), whereas Astrocaryum murumuru butter contained lauric acid (40%) and myristic acid (29.3%). The ternary phase diagram was constructed from the mixture of the components (murumuru butter/Procetyl®/water) in order to obtain the Astrocaryum murumuru butter–based liquid crystal phase and two new herbal formulations containing 1% and 15% of Mauritia flexuosa oil. The phase behaviors were characterized by polarized light microscopy which showed that the analyzed formulations exhibited a hexagonal liquid crystalline phase. The designed formulations were subjected to physicochemical analysis and showed appropriate pH ranging from 5.90 to 6.45 and desirable rheological properties for skin application, such as pseudoplasticity. The wound healing potential of the topical herbal formulation was evaluated in Wistar rats over a period of 21 days. The formulations containing 15% of Mauritia flexuosa oil showed a significant effect ( p < 0.05) on the epithelial regeneration process, causing early re-epithelialization of the injured tissue. The in silico prediction of skin sensitization showed that none of the identified compounds had any potential skin toxicity for humans. Graphical abstract