Assessment of the enhanced antibacterial activity of snail mucus, thymol, and ferulic acid in a rat model of burn wounds infected with Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

AIMS: To develop and evaluate a novel topical formulation - comprising snail mucus, thymol, and ferulic acid (STF) - for treating wounds infected with multidrug-resistant bacteria, and to compare its therapeutic efficacy against silver sulfadiazine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The in vitro antimicrobial properties of STF were analyzed using checkerboard assays to determine the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index. The cytotoxicity of STF was determined using the MTT viability assay using L929 fibroblasts. The in vivo efficacy of STF was assessed using a rat excisional wound model, and wound closure rates were measured at 14 days post-infection. RESULTS: STF showed an additive interaction in the in vitro model (FIC index: 0.717-0.936) and possessed low cytotoxicity (IC50: 705.4 microg/mL) compared to the individual compounds. In the in vivo model, the group treated with STF showed significantly faster wound healing and decreased inflammation compared to all other groups, including the silver sulfadiazine group. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of snail mucus in STF is a highly effective remedy for infected wounds, providing complementary benefits in vivo by coupling antimicrobial activity with pro-regenerative functions, and demonstrates superiority over silver sulfadiazine.