Effect of calcium chloride on wound healing in rats / Liyana Yusof

This study investigated the effect of topical administration of calcium chloride (CaCh) solution on the wound healing process in rats. Nine male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups: (I) rats without treatment (n=3), (II) rats treated with 0.01 % CaCh solution (n=3) and (III) rats treated with 5.4 % CaCl2 solution (n=3). A partial thickness wound was created on the dorsal region of the rats. Wound healing was assessed through characterizing wound size, morphology and histological profiles with time. CaCh did not promote wound healing when compared to the control group. Morphological observation showed that the wounds treated with CaCh solution healed slower than the control group. This was supported by histological observation on 301h day post-wounding where the extracellular matrix of control rats was arranged in an organized manner with densely packed collagen-elastin system unlike rats treated with CaCh solution. CaCh does not promote wound healing unlike previously reported incidences where calcium is essential for clotting and re-epithelialization.