the role of vco nanoemulgel in decreasing il-8 and mmp-13 expressions and increasing vegf expression to prevent striae gravidarum

Background: pregnancy induces changes across all body systems and generally undergoes periodic involution postpartum, with the exception of striae gravidarum. sg lesions are permanent, pruritic, and psychologically disturbing, thereby threatening quality of life. the stretching associated with sg activates the damp pathway and hypoxia, leading to increased il-8 levels followed by elevated mmp-13, which causes collagen breakdown. vco contains lauric, myristic, and stearic acids, which are effective as anti-inflammatory agents. the aim of this study was to analyze the role of vco nanoemulgel in decreasing the expression of il-8 and mmp-13 and increase vegf expression as a preventive approach against sg. methods: this experimental study employed a post-test-only control group design involving 35 mice. the treatment group received 1 ml of vco nanoemulgel twice a day. immunohistochemical examination was done using monoclonal antibodies. data were analysed using kruskal-wallis and anova, with post hoc testing using mann-whitney and tukey hsd. results: there was a highly significant difference in il-8 expression among all groups, with the lowest mean il-8 expression observed in group p3 (p < 0.001). a significant difference was also found in mmp-13 expression among all groups, with the lowest mean mmp-13 expression in group p2 (p < 0.001). vegf expression differed significantly among all groups, with the highest mean vegf expression found in group p3 (p < 0.05). conclusion: vco nanoemulgel contributes in decreasing il-8 expression and increasing vegf, with the optimal dose being 200 µg/ml. to reduce mmp-13, the optimal dose was 150 µg/ml to prevent sg.