INTRODUCTION: The large use of plants in the prevention and treatment of different diseases is a milenar practice. In Brazil due to it's rich flora there is a huge material for research and use in popular medicine. The babassu (Orbignya phalerata) is a native tree from North of the Brazil and has a high concentration at the State of Maranhão. The powder of it's mesocarp is known as amid, and has been used as meal and medication due to the known activity against antiflammatory reaction, pain, pyrexia and immunomodulation. PURPOSE: To analyze the effect of mesocarp of Orbignya phalerata (babassu) in gastric wound healing in rats under morphologic and tensiometric aspects. METHOD: Forty Wistar rats, male, adults were submitted to a longitudinal incision of 1 cm in the gastric body and sutured with separated stitches of polypropilene 6.0. After this common procedure the animals were allocated in the aleatory way in two groups Orbignya (GO) and Control (GC) with 20 animals each one. In the GO was used intraperitoneal doses of 50mg/kh of Orbignya phalerata extract and in the GC water 1ml/Kg. Each group was divided in two subgroups of ten rats according to the period of death, at 3rd and 7th post-operative days. After the death, the abdominal cavity was evaluated and the stomach withdrawn. For the comparative analysis between the groups the macroscopic and histological parameters of wound healing were utilized. RESULTS: There were no abscess, fistulae and haematom in the animals of the study. Abdominal adhesions were observed in both groups of the animals at 3rd and 7th post-operative days. Dehiscence of the gastrorraphy was identified in one 3rd day rat of subgroups GO. The resistance to air insufflation was higher in GO 3rd day (p=0,087). The analysis of histological parameters showed statistical difference related to wound coaptation in favor to subgroup GO 7th post-operative day. CONCLUSIONS: The extract of mesocarp of Orbignya phalerata in dose and path utilized positively interfered on the gastrorraphy when compared with control group in animals at 7th post-operative day.
Orbignya phalerata; Wound Healing; Stomach; Rats
