Topical astragaloside IV-releasing hydrogel improves healing of skin wounds in vivo.

Topical delivery of therapeutic agents at the time of injury to accelerate skin repair and prevent the formation of scars during the wound healing process has received increasing attention and represents a novel regenerative and prophylactic strategy for wound treatment. The aim of this study was to invesigate, for the first time, the influence of topical astragaloside IV-releasing hydrogel on the wound repair and regeneration. Using the sodium alginate-gelatin as a hydrogel vehicle, the astragaloside IV was incorporated into the topical carrier and kept releasing with a sustained manner at the wound site. With the rat skin excision model, regulation of the astragaloside IV hydrogel on the wound repair and regeneration were investigated. It was found that the astragaloside IV hydrogel was effective in the skin wound repair, leading to a significant improvement on the wound closure, collagen synthesis and skin tensile strength recovery. Meanwhile, for the first time, that functions of astragaloside IV hydrogel in activating the skin appendages regeneration and increasing the transforming growth factor-β(1) (TGF-β(1)) level in serum were shown. Results of this study provided evidence for the alginate-gelatin hydrogel as efficient carrier for the topical delivery of bioactive molecules to the injured site. The astragaloside IV releasing hydrogel was shown a promising therapeutic formulation for wound healing, as well as its regenerative feature and underlying mechanism contribute to the skin regeneration were disclaimed.