International Journal of Preventive Medicine (Int J Prev Med)2008-780251020140802126168EN20140802<p>&nbsp;<strong>Background: </strong>A lot of remedies, mostly plant based, were mentioned in the Persian old pharmacopoeias for promoting of burn and wound healing and tissue repairing. The efficacy of most of these old remedies is unexplored till now. <em>Adiantum capillus‑veneris </em>from Adiantaceae family is one of them that was used to treating of some kinds of chronic wounds.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>Methanol extract was fractionated to four different partitions that is, hexane, ethyl acetate, <em>n</em>‑butanol, and aqueous. The potential of <em>A. capillus‑veneris </em>fractions in wound healing or prevention of chronic wounds were evaluated through angiogenesis and fibroblast proliferation, in addition to <em>in vitro </em>tests for protection against damage to fibroblasts by oxygen free radicals.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>The aqueous part of <em>A. capillus‑veneris </em>promoted significant angiogenesis (<em>P </em>&lt; 0.05) through both capillary‑like tubular formations and proliferation of endothelial cells <em>in vitro</em>. In addition, in the tests for protection against damage to fibroblasts by oxygen free radicals, aqueous and butanol fractions showed significant protective effects in the concentrations 50, and 500 &mu;g/ml (<em>P </em>&lt; 0.05) in comparison with a control group. In the toxicity testing, it showed weak irritation in the Hen&rsquo;s egg test chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) bioassay at the vascular level on the CAM of the chicken and no significant cytotoxicity in the MTT assays on normal human dermal fibroblasts.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Angiogenic effects and protective effects against oxygen free radicals suggested aqueous partition of <em>A. capillus‑veneris </em>local application for prevention of late‑radiation-induced injuries after radiation therapy and healing of external wounds similar to bedsores and burns.</p> <p><strong>Keywords: </strong><em>Adiantum capillus‑veneris</em>, angiogenesis, fibroblast proliferation, hen&rsquo;s egg test chorioallantoic membrane test, Iranian traditional medicine, wound healing</p>http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/view/1414http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/download/1414/1699