. 2024 Nov 29;14:1469493. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1469493

Table 4.

Inflammatory markers in response to therapeutic effects of a hydrogel loaded with pomegranate peel extract-hyaluronic acid-silver nanoparticles at different concentrations in cutaneous wounds in rats experimentally infected with C. albicans.

Parameter	Experimental groups					P value	SEM
On 5 dpt	Control	Commercial cream	PPE-HA-AgNPsI	PPE-HA-AgNPsII	PPE-HA-AgNPsIII	P value	SEM
TNF-α, pg/μL	327.33^a	171.67^c	212.33^b	173.00^c	153.08^d	0.02	1.2
IL-6, pg/μL	179.10^a	159.00^b	137.07^c	97.67^d	71.87^e	< 0.001	1.2
IL-1β, pg/μL	194.00^a	131.00^c	149.00^b	133.33^c	127.33^c	0.02	2.6
NO (µmol/ L)	4.93^a	4.83^a	3.80^b	3.10^c	2.77^c	< 0.001	0.06
NOS (µmol/ L)	1.87^a	1.46^ab	1.40^ab	1.37^ab	1.20^b	0.04	0.05
CRP (mg/ L)	14.50^a	11.33^ab	11.43^ab	8.57^bc	6.90^c	0.001	0.23
MPO (µmol/L)	12.53^d	37.00^b	32.23^c	44.57^a	45.53^a	< 0.001	0.34
On 10 dpt
TNF-α, pg/μL	374.33^a	138.00^c	164.00^b	128.00^c	109.97^d	0.03	3.2
IL-6, pg/μL	202.77^a	147.00^b	125.33^c	95.90^d	70.50^e	< 0.001	1.8
IL-1β, pg/μL	241.00^a	131.67^b	134.00^b	121.33^bc	110.67^c	0.01	2.7
NO (µmol/ L)	4.17^a	3.57^ab	3.23^bc	2.77^cd	2.30^d	< 0.001	0.1
NOS (µmol/ L)	1.47^a	1.33^ab	1.10^ab	1.10^ab	0.9^b	0.03	0.04
CRP (mg/ L)	16.80^a	8.97^b	9.43^b	6.77^b	3.37^c	< 0.001	0.17
MPO (µmol/L)	9.03^c	31.33^a	27.83^b	34.27^a	33.50^a	< 0.001	0.15

dpt, days post-treatment; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-alpha; IL-6, interleukin-6; IL-1β, interleukin-1 beta; NO, nitric oxide; NOS, nitric oxide synthase; CRP, C-reactive protein; MPO, myeloperoxidase. Control: the rats in this group had an experimental cutaneous wound with subsequent C. albicans strain infection and received no treatment, commercial cream: rats in this group had an experimental cutaneous wound with subsequent C. albicans infection and received a commercially available ketoconazole cream (2%) as a reference drug, PPE-HA-AgNPsI: the rats in this group had an experimental cutaneous wound with subsequent C. albicans infection and received a PPE-HA-AgNP formulated nanocomposite at 25% concentration, PPE-HA-AgNPsII: the rats in this group had an experimental cutaneous wound with subsequent C. albicans infection and received a PPE-HA-AgNP formulated nanocomposite at 50% concertation, PPE-HA-AgNPsIII: the rats in this group had an experimental cutaneous wound with subsequent C. albicans infection and received a PPE-HA-AgNP formulated nanocomposite at full concentration. ^a–eMean values with distinct letters in the same row changed significantly (p < 0.05).