Assessing the impact of aqueous bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) extract on the histological development of skin graft healing in rabbits was the aim of this investigation. Group A (control) and Group B (treatment with bay leaf extract) were randomly assigned to sixteen clinically healthy adult rabbits of both sexes, weighing 1.25–2 kg. All animals underwent sterile surgical creation of full-thickness skin wounds (4 cm²) bilaterally on the abdomen, with partial skin grafting at each site. Skin tissue biopsies were collected from both groups on days 3, 7, 14, and 21 for histological analysis. On day 3, Group B exhibited reduced dermal inflammation and edema compared to Group A. By day 7, the treated wounds showed enhanced collagen organization, hair follicle dilatation, and moderate vascular changes, while control wounds displayed pronounced inflammation. On day 14, treated wounds demonstrated extensive dermal fibrosis and mononuclear cell infiltration with endothelial hyperplasia, whereas control wounds showed severe sebaceous gland proliferation and inflammatory exudate. At day 21, Group B wounds showed more mature fibrosis and glandular proliferation than group A, which was still with minimal connective tissue regeneration, topically applied bay leaf aqueous extract significantly can accelerate skin graft healing in rabbit via enhancing inflammation modulation and tissue regeneration too, may be a natural therapeutic agent for treatment of other wound in future.

Keywords: bay leaves, skin grafting, rabbit, anti-inflammatory.