Maltodextrin/ascorbic acid stimulates wound closure by increasing collagen turnover and TGF-β1 expression in vitro and changing the stage of inflammation from chronic to acute in vivo

Abstract It has been reported that carbohydrates confer physicochemical properties to the wound environment that improves tissue repair. We evaluated in vitro and in vivo wound healing during maltodextrin/ascorbic acid treatment. In a fibroblast monolayer scratch assay, we demonstrated that maltodextrin/ascorbic acid stimulated monolayer repair by increasing collagen turnover coordinately with TGF-β1 expression (rising TGF-β1 and MMP-1 expression, as well as gelatinase activity, while TIMP-1 was diminished), similar to in vivo trends. On the other hand, we observed that venous leg ulcers treated with maltodextrin/ascorbic acid diminished microorganism population and improved wound repair during a 12 week period. When maltodextrin/ascorbic acid treatment was compared with zinc oxide, almost four fold wound closure was evidenced. Tissue architecture and granulation were improved after the carbohydrate treatment also, since patients that received maltodextrin/ascorbic acid showed lower type I collagen fiber levels and increased extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity and blood vessels than those treated with zinc oxide. We hypothesize that maltodextrin/ascorbic acid treatment stimulated tissue repair of chronic wounds by changing the stage of inflammation and modifying collagen turnover directly through fibroblast response.