Study of the ability of polysaccharides isolated from Zizania latifolia to promote wound healing in mice via in vitro screening and in vivo evaluation

Swollen culms of Zizania latifolia possess a peculiar flavor, nutritional value and health-promoting effects. This study investigated the wound healing ability of polysaccharides isolated from Zizania latifolia (ZLP). Through in vitro assays, ZLP demonstrated negligible cytotoxicity and promoted the migration and phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus by macrophages where ZLP-2 had a significantly greater effect. Moreover, ZLP-2 has a higher purity and molecular weight, an integral and large lamellar morphology, and a larger particle size in solution, suggesting its ability to form films. Thus, ZLP-2 was fabricated as a gel formulation for topical application. The in vivo results showed that the ZLP-2 gel had significantly greater effects than did the autonomous healing process according to quantitative analysis of the wound closure area. The ZLP-2 gel decreased the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in wounded tissue. Furthermore, the quantification of the molecular indexes via qRT-PCR revealed that the levels of tnf-α, tgf-β, mcp-1, ifn-γ, inos, and vegf in the treated group increased during the inflammatory and proliferation stages but decreased after wound closure. These results suggest that ZLP-2 has great potential in pharmaceutical applications for wound care.