Exploring the wound healing potential of dietary nitrate in diabetic rat model

Xiaodan Hu; Haoyue Xu; Lingxue Bu; Jian Sun; Jiangzhi Deng; Kai Song; Lin Wang; Baoxing Pang

doi:10.3389/fphys.2024.1475375

Exploring the wound healing potential of dietary nitrate in diabetic rat model

Front Physiol. 2024 Nov 20:15:1475375. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1475375. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Xiaodan Hu^{1

2}, Haoyue Xu^{1

2}, Lingxue Bu^{1

2}, Jian Sun^{1

2}, Jiangzhi Deng^{1

2}, Kai Song^{1

2}, Lin Wang^{1

2}, Baoxing Pang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
² School of Stomatology of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.

Abstract

Introduction: The wound healing in diabetes is hindered and prolonged due to long-term inflammation, oxidative stress damage, and angiogenesis disorders induced by high glucose status. The management of such difficult-to-treat wounds continues to pose a significant challenge in clinical treatment. Dietary nitrate, commonly found in greens such as beets and spinach, acts as a nutritional supplement and is metabolized in the body through the salivary nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway. This pathway plays a crucial role in various physiological functions, including enhancing blood flow and attenuating inflammation.

Methods: In this study, we established a diabetic rat wound model. Forty-eight rats were randomly divided into six groups (n = 8): the Con group, the Con + Nitrate group, the STZ group, the STZ + NaCl group, the STZ + rhEGF group, and the STZ + Nitrate group. Skin wound healing was assessed on the day of surgery and on postoperative days 3, 7, 10, and 14. Specimens were taken on days 7 and 14 post-surgery for relevant tests.

Results: We found that dietary nitrate could accelerate skin wound healing by promoting angiogenesis and increasing blood perfusion. Significantly, dietary nitrate also regulated glucose and lipid metabolism and exhibited anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Discussion: These findings provide a novel theoretical basis for managing wounds in diabetic individuals, indicating the broad potential of dietary nitrate in future clinical applications.

Keywords: angiogenesis; diabetic wounds; nitrate; nitric oxide; wound healing.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Shandong Province Youth Innovation and Technology Support Plan for Higher Education Institutions (2023KJ357).