Healing effect of a galactomannan gel with immobilized Cramoll on wounds infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in diabetic mice

The healing of infected diabetic wounds with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the greatest challenges in medicine, mainly due to resistance to traditional antibiotics, requiring alternative strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the use of Cassia grandis galactomannan gel, with or without Cratylia mollis lectin (Cramoll), in skin wounds (Ø = 0.8 cm) on the backs of diabetic mice infected or not with MRSA. After confirmation of diabetes induced by a single dose of alloxan monohydrate (200 mg/kg), the animals were divided into 4 groups (n = 15) and treated as follows: saline solution, negative control (GDNC); galactomannan gel (GDG); Cramoll solution (100 µg/mL) (GDC); and galactomannan gel containing Cramoll (GDGC), in daily doses of 100 μL of each substance for 12 days. After macroscopic and microscopic evaluation of the wounds, GDGC demonstrated greater healing efficiency and was selected for the treatment of infected skin wounds with 50 μL of the 1x108 CFU/mL MRSA suspension. Infected diabetic animals (DI) were divided into 4 groups (n=15) and treated as follows: galactomannan gel containing Cramoll (GDIGC); galactomannan gel containing Cramoll+mupirocin (GDIGCM); saline, negative control (GDICN); mupirocin, positive control (GDIMPC). The results revealed that GDIGC presented greater wound contraction (p<0.05) compared to GDIMPC; however, histopathological analyses confirmed that the galactomannan gel containing Cramoll+mupirocin (GDIGCM) significantly accelerated the healing process due to the synergistic effect between gel, Cramoll, and the antibiotic, standing out as a promising alternative for the healing of infected wounds.