Burns are preventable injuries that can arise from a variety of noxious stimuli, primarily thermal. One of the natural medicinal extracts that have been utilized in pharmaceuticals is cinnamon essential oil, which is primarily made up of the aromatic compounds aldehyde and eugenol. It has many biological properties that are proven to be effective antimicrobials and antivirals. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cinnamon essential oil in treating burn wounds in rats through histological examination and using serum VEGF concentrations as an indicator of treatment outcomes.

A total number of 36 albino rats with a body weight of 300–350 g and aging from 7 to 8 months were divided into two main groups; each group was subdivided into three subgroups (6 rats in each) based on the healing period (5, 7, and 14 days). A thermal burn induced with a sterile metal dental tool was placed against a shaved, disinfected area of the cheek for ten seconds with minimal pressure to create a skin burn; the experimental group was treated with a topical application of one drop of cinnamon oil.

Histologically, this study shows the role of cinnamon oil in progression and a clear difference in the stages of the healing process for the experimental group compared to the control group. In addition, the ELISA test indicated that there is a peak in VEGF levels at 5 days, which then starts to decline with a highly significant difference between the two groups.

Cinnamon oil accelerates wound healing by upregulating VEGF expression and increasing re-epithelialization and granulation tissues with collagen fiber synthesis and cell multiplication ratio.