Abstract

UNLABELLED  Background. The effect of oral L-glutamine on wound healing in two groups of mice with superficial second-degree burns was evaluated. METHODS Thirty (30) male mice were included and randomly divided into two groups. First, the mice underwent general anesthesia, then an iron plate heated to 80˚C was placed on each animal's skin for 1 second to create a second-degree burn injury. The test group mice received glutamine powder (1 g/kg/day) dissolved in water; the control group did not receive this supplementation. The variables were weight, burn wound surface area (cm3), wound contraction, and wound healing percentage on days 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, and 22. Serum levels of albumin, urea, and creatinine were assayed on days 1 and 22. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the groups regarding weight or serum albumin, urea, and creatinine levels. However, mean wound contraction was significant between the groups on days 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, and 22. Complete wound healing (100%) was achieved on day 22 in the test group compared to 71% healing in the control group. CONCLUSION A significant and positive effect of oral glutamine on burn wound healing was found. However, further research is necessary in order to understand which stage of the healing process glutamine supplementation affected .