Evidence Hub

The profound potential of fungal β-glucans in animal skin wound healing

Rafaela Caldas de Paula, C. B. Parodi, Nicoly Subtil de Oliveira, P. D. de Souza, Luiz Fernando Bianchini, E. A. R. Rosa

Revista Acadêmica Ciência Animal, 2025

Abstract

β-glucans have a recognized broad potential for immunomodulation, re-epithelialization, and inflammation mitigation. In veterinary medicine, their role in wound healing is particularly relevant due to these re-epithelializing and anti-inflammatory properties. This study conducted a literature review to evaluate the use of β-glucans in healing cutaneous wounds in animals. The databases PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase were searched for relevant studies. Only articles published between January 2013 and March 2023 that specifically reported the use of β-glucans as a therapeutic agent for skin wound healing were included. A total of 237 articles were initially identified, but only 17 met the inclusion criteria and methodological standards for analysis. Among these studies, mice were the most frequently used animal model, and β-glucans were most commonly applied in hydrogel formulations. The compiled findings demonstrate that β-glucans contribute positively to the wound healing process by accelerating tissue regeneration and reducing the overall time required for wound closure, showing superior outcomes compared to many conventional treatments.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a review, done in animal, not in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free