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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Wound-healing efficacy of Libidibia ferrea fruit-derived topical formulations in Wistar rats

Ana Karina Lima Alves Cerdeira1,2 ,  Francineide Pereira da Silva Pena3 ,  Cecília Rafaela Salles Ferreira3 ,  Sérgio Gabriell Leite Brito1,4 ,  Luiza Pinon Nery de Oliveira1,4 ,  Helison de Oliveira Carvalho1,2 ,  Ricardo Luiz Cavalcanti de Albuquerque Jr5 ,  Erdi Can Aytar4 ,  José Carlos Tavares Carvalho1,2,6*
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1 Department of Biological and Health Sciences, Laboratory of Drug Research, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Amapá, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil
2 Department of Biological and Health Sciences, Innovation Pharmaceutical Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Amapá, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil
3 Basic Health Unit, Department of Biological and Health Sciences, Faculty of Nursing, Federal University of Amapá, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil
4 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Usak University, Mende/Merkez/Uşak, Türkiye
5 Department of Health Sciences, Postgraduate Program in Health and Environment, Faculty of Medicine, Tiradentes University, Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
6 Clinical Research Center, University Hospital, Federal University of Amapá, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil
Global Translational Medicine, 025350067 https://doi.org/10.36922/GTM025350067
Received: 30 August 2025 | Revised: 14 December 2025 | Accepted: 15 December 2025 | Published online: 12 January 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Libidibia ferrea var. ferrea (Mart. ex Tul.) L.P. Queiroz (syn. Caesalpinia ferrea), popularly known as jucá, is widely distributed in the Amazon region and northeastern Brazil and is conventionally used to treat various diseases, including diabetes, infections, and inflammatory conditions. This study evaluated the healing effects of topical formulations derived from L. ferrea fruits on cutaneous wounds induced in Wistar rats. Three topical preparations were assessed: A glycolic extract of L. ferrea, a fruit infusion formulation (InLf), and a carbopol gel formulation (GLf). The phytochemical compounds present in the formulations, such as tannins and flavonoids, are known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties, which are essential for the healing process. Histopathological methods were used to evaluate healing, including analysis of epithelialization, granulation tissue formation, and collagen deposition. The results demonstrated that InLf and GLf significantly accelerated healing, with greater type I collagen deposition in the groups treated with these formulations, suggesting a more advanced tissue repair process. Among the formulations, InLf demonstrated the most pronounced healing effects, possibly due to its higher flavonoid content. The in silico study showed that the main markers of this species—gallic acid and ethyl gallate—are involved in the observed pharmacological response, modulating vascular proliferation and fibroblast activity. Overall, these findings reinforce the therapeutic potential of L. ferrea in the development of natural healing agents.

Keywords
Wound healing
Libidibia ferrea
Tannins
Flavonoids
Collagen
Skin wounds
Wistar rats
Funding
This study was funded by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior; CAPES) through the National Program for Academic Cooperation- Amazon Region (Programa Nacional de Cooperação Acadêmica–Amazônia; PROCAD Amazônia; 1723/2018- 00 PROCAD-AMAZONIA) and by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Department (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico; CNPq) through the Academic Master’s and Doctoral Program for Innovation (Programa de Mestrado e Doutorado Acadêmico para Inovação; MAI-DAI; Proc. 421808/2022-5) and the National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) North–Northeast Network of Phytoproducts (grant number: 421808/2022-5). This project received funding from the AmazonCure Company via the Priority Bioeconomy Program (PPBio - Priority Project: No. 06/2025), a public policy of the Superintendence of the Manaus Free Trade Zone (Suframa) coordinated by the Institute for Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Amazon (Idesam).
Conflict of interest
José Carlos Tavares Carvalho is an Editorial Board Member of this journal, but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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Global Translational Medicine, Electronic ISSN: 2811-0021 Print ISSN: 3060-8600, Published by AccScience Publishing
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