DUARTE, Carlos Daniel da Silva; SOUZA, Francisco José Borges; JANONES, Leonardo Silva; BARCELOS, Jeferson Borges
Abstract:
Medicinal macrofungi, due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and
immunomodulatory activities, contributing to healing, have been extensively studied.
Among them, Langermannia wahlbergii (LW) stands out among therapeutic
perspectives, but remains little explored scientifically. Given the difficulty of wound
healing in livestock, and especially in treatments such as dehorning, this investigation
aimed to elucidate the efficacy of LW extract in tissue recovery among cattle. The
objectives were to evaluate the healing capacity of the extract compared to
conventional veterinary care. A rigorous and controlled experimental study was
conducted on two groups of animals that underwent dehorning: the first group was
treated with LW extract, while the second group received standard therapy. The
wounds were documented in clinical records, photographed, and evaluated on seven
macroscopic parameters related to healing. Descriptive statistics were applied to
analyze the data. The experimental group had complete epithelialization with LW in an
average of 9 days, and a control treatment of approximately 15 days. Furthermore, the
experimental group showed reduced tissue retraction, reduced inflammation, less
exuberant granulation, and no secondary infection. There was also improved tissue
composition in the final region of the scar, and there appeared to be a more uniform
coloration more aligned with the physiological healing process. It was concluded that
the LW extract has good potential for biotherapeutic treatment, increasing the wound
healing capacity and reducing potential post-dehorning complications. While
encouraging in nature, these findings highlight the importance of investigating
mechanisms of action and standardizing their use in future studies with higher-level
quantitative and biochemical measurements.