Today, there is a great interest in healing cutaneous wounds. Probiotics are defined as different microorganisms that may have positive effects on preventing or treating special pathologic conditions. It is also possible to use probiotics in wound healing processes. Since much research has not been done on probiotics, this study is designed to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus brevis on cutaneous wound healing. Twenty two strains of lactobacillus isolated from traditional dairy products of Iran are investigated for exopolysaccharide (EPS) production applying the phenol-sulfuric acid method.L. brevis selected for its high exopolysaccharide (EPS) and mucoid coloniese production. A full-thickness wound (1.5 × 1.5 cm) was made on the back of each rat (45 rats in 3 groups). Two groups of holding control and experimental ones treated by eucerin and eucerin containing L. brevis. Additionally, negative control groups did not receive anything. On days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 rats were killed and wound samples were collected for histological and statistical studies. On day 21, The percentage of wound healing (99.53%) and inflammation in the experimental groups compared with the control (90.55%) and negative control groups (91.14%) were significant (p<0.001). In contrast to the control and negative control groups, the number of neutrophils and macrophages in the experimental groups showed a faster reduction (p<0.01). The current study presented a significant decrease in inflammation and an acceleration of wound healing in L. brevis treated rats as compared to the control and negative control groups. Further studies are required to develop a detailed mechanism of L. brevis during cutaneous wound healing.

Key words: Cutaneous wound, exopolysaccharide, healing, Lactobacillus brevis, probiotic.