Tehran University of Medical Sciences Acta Medica Iranica 0044-6025 50 9 2012 09 15 583 588 EN Roya Sharifi Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Hossein Rastegar Food and Drug Control Laboratory and Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran. Mohammad Kamalinejad Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Ahmad Reza Dehpour Department of Pharmacology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Seyed Mohammad Tavangar Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Maliheh Paknejad Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Mahboobeh Mehrabani Natanzi Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Naghmeh Ghannadian Students’ Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Minoo Akbari Food and Drug Control Laboratory and Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran. Parvin Pasalar Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. AND Center for Research on Occupational diseases, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2015 09 28 Silymarin, an extract from Silybum marianum, has been shown to have antioxidant properties. However, there is no scientific report on wound healing activity of the silymarin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of topical administration of silymarin on excision wound healing in rats. Excision wounds were made on the back of rats. Rats were divided into three groups, as control, vehicle, and treatment. Vehicle and treatment groups received polyethylene glycol and silymarin dissolved in polyethylene glycol, respectively. The control group did not receive any treatment. The wound tissues were removed on 5th, 10th and 15th day for histopathological analysis and total collagen determination by hydroxyproline assay. Results showed that silymarin increased epithelialization and decreased inflammation but did not have any effect on percentage of wound contraction, collagenization and hydroxyproline levels. It was concluded that silymarin can significantly stimulate epithelialization and reduce inflammation in full-thickness wounds in rats. https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/view/3955 https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/download/3955/3930