Bone repair is a multistep process involving migration, proliferation, differentiation and activation of several cell types that leads to healing . Many biological activities associated with Aloe vera have been attributed to the chemical component contained in the gel of the leaves. The present study was designed to illustrate the effect of topical application of aloe vera on bone healing by histological examination and immunohistochemical evaluation of BMP7 .Fifteen male Swiss rats were subjected for femur bone defect , one in the left side represented the control(defect was left without treatment) ,while the right side represented the experimental(treated with 0.1 µl of aloe vera gel). The animals were sacrificed at periods 7, 14, and 28 day, as five rats for each period. Histological and immunohistochemical evaluation for expression of BMP7 were done for all study samples.In-vivo results showed aloe vera treated group had faster bone healing compared with untreated controls. A substantial findings for the growth of bone trabeculae was observed in treated group. The results revealed that A.vera significantly increased osteogenic cell proliferation, expression of bone morphogenetic protein7and maturation of newly formed bone,compared with the untreated group. Conclusion:These data suggest aloe vera could function as a bioactive molecule inducing bone formation by stimulating proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts with high expression of BMP7.
Keywords: Aloe vera, BMP7, Bone Healing.
