The essential oil of Croton zehntneri and trans-anethole improves cutaneous wound healing.

Ethnopharmacology Relevance: Croton zehntneri is a Euphorbiaceae species native to northeastern Brazil, where teas and beverages made from Croton zehntneri leaves are used as healing agents. To our knowledge, there is no experimental study supporting this claim of pharmacological activity.

Materials And Methods: Full-thickness excisional wounds were made in the left and right sides of the dorsum of anesthetised Swiss mice, and a topical pharmaceutical formulation, developed by including essential oil extracted from the leaves of Croton zehntneri (2% and 20% EOCz) in pluronic-127 (PF-127), was administered to mice twice daily for 15 days post-wounding.