Evaluation of the potential of chitosan-based films with α,β-amyrenone triterpene for wound healing

α,β-Amyrenone (ABAME) is a mixture of natural isomers belonging to the class of triterpenes, which have great potential because of their biological activities, mainly the anti-inflammatory one. Chitosan films are increasingly used for topical use because they enable a gradual release of the drug, in addition to many other advantages. Therefore, the goal of this study was to develop ABAME-containing chitosan films, aiming at the topical application in the treatment of skin lesions. ABAME films were submitted to physicochemical characterization and assessed for in vivo wound healing. Thermal analysis and FTIR suggested ABAME incorporation into the chitosan matrix, while XRD showed characteristic halos of amorphous compounds, indicating ABAME amorphization by chitosan. SEM images confirmed its homogeneous inclusion in chitosan matrix, with partial loss of pure ABAME crystallinity. In the in vivo tests, the groups CF1, CF2 and CF5, treated with chitosan films with different ABAME concentrations, exhibited a more efficient and faster regeneration process than the other groups, mainly after 7 and 10 days of treatment. In the histopathological tests, chitosan-ABAME films showed a reduction in inflammatory infiltrates, greater neovascularization, re-epithelialization, and absence of necrosis and costal points when compared to the untreated group and blank chitosan film. Additionally, the CF1, CF2 and CF5 groups showed a reduction in the NTF-α and IL-1β cytokines levels, as well as an increase in that of IL-10 compared to the untreated group after 7 and 14 days. ABAME-containing chitosan films were very efficient in the wound healing process, due to the anti-inflammatory properties of the active component; therefore, they may be used as a promising delivery system to treat skin lesions.