catechin hydrate improves hypertrophic scar in rabbit ear model via reduction of collagen synthesis

Background: hypertrophic scar (hs) is a cutaneous condition results from abnormal wound healing following deep tissue injury. to date, there is no optimal treatment for this skin disorder. catechins possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-fibrotic properties. in this study we investigated the effects of catechin hydrate (ch) in rabbit ear model of hs.methods: a rabbit ear model of hypertrophic scar was set up. ten new zealand white rabbit were divided into 5 equal groups: non-treatment group, vehicle control, treated with intralesional injection of dimethyl sulfoxide (dmso), and test groups, received intralesional injection of ch/dmso solution at concentration of 0.25, 1.25 and, 2.5 mg/ml, respectively. the treatments were initiated ‏‎35 days after wounding once a ‏week for ‏‎4 ‎weeks‎.‎ ‏ the scar elevation index (sei) and the epidermal thickness index (eti) were measured using hematoxylin and eosin (h&e) ‏staining and the amount of collagen deposition were determined after masson‎’ ‎trichrome staining‎. ‎in addition‎, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) ‎‏method was used to determine the levels of ‎ type і ‏and ііі collagen and matrix metalloproteinase ‏‎1 (mmp1) in scar tissues.results: ch improved abnormal scarring at concentrations of 1.25 and 2.5 mg/ml and significantly (p<0.001) reduced the sei and eti. the levels of collagen type і and type ііі, and total collagen deposition were significantly (p<0.05) decreased in scar tissues of ch treated groups and no significant effect on mmp1 levels.conclusion: our findings demonstrated that ch has the potential for the treatment of hss.