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DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HONEY/GOTU KOLA/κ-CARRAGEENAN-BASED HYDROGEL FILM WITH THE EVALUATION OF WOUND HEALING ACTIVITY IN EXCISION WOUND RAT MODEL

SARI MEISYAYATI ^1,2, AMIRAH ADLIA ¹, ALUICIA ANITA ARTARINI ¹, I KETUT ADNYANA ¹*

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The high cost of modern wound dressings remains a burden for low-income patients. Formulating honey, gotu kola extract, and κ-carrageenan into a hydrogel film represents a promising, cost-effective alternative, given their sustainability, low cost, and natural abundance. The study aimed to determine the optimal formula for a honey/gotu kola/κ-carrageenan-based hydro- gel film and to evaluate its wound-healing activity in a rat excision wound model, along with histopathology and immuno- histochemistry. In this study, eight formulations of κ-carrageenan hydrogel were designed using a simple casting method with various honey concentrations (10 - 40%) and different plasticizers, namely sorbitol and glycerol. The formula with the lowest honey content and sorbitol as a plasticizer yielded the most transparent, thinnest film with the highest swelling capacity. Adding 0.5% w/w gotu kola extract still maintained its mechanical characteristics, high swelling capacity, and a preferable active content release profile. It significantly accelerated wound healing by creating unfavorable conditions for bacterial growth, inducing extracellular matrix and collagen type I depositions, and enhancing angiogenesis.