histomorphometric study on the effects of artemisia sieberi extract in mice skin

introduction: skin as the biggest single body organ is always exposing to various injuries, therefore health and healing of its injuries is vital. artemisia sieberi is a valuable medicinal plant with a long history of indication in folk and modern medicine. due to different chemical components and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and cytoprotective properties of artemisia, this study was conducted to study the histomorphometric effects of artemisia sieberi (a. sieberi) extract on mice skin. methods: ninety adult mice were randomly divided in 3 groups. in the treatment group a. sieberi extract dissolved in ethanol & distilled water, in the positive control ethanol & distilled water, and in negative control only distilled water were applied on the shaved dorsum twice daily for 21 days. mean thickness of epidermis, hypodermis & dermis layers, percentage of collagen fibers and histological evaluation of skin layers were studied in 1, 3, 5, 14 and 21days post treatment. data were presented as mean± sd and analyzed using one way anova and lsd post hoc tests. the p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. results: a. sieberi extract significantly increased epidermis thickness in day 1, hypodermis, dermis and percentage of collagen fibers in day 3 in comparison to positive and negative control groups. histology study revealed normal structure of skin and no abnormality was seen. conclusion: a. sieberi extract can be effective for health and healing of skin injuries by increasing thickness of the skin layers and amount of collagen fibers.