Effectiveness of bitter melon extract in the treatment of ischemic wounds in rats

Abstract

There is no consensus on the properties of an ideal dressing for treating wounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of dressings using topically administered bitter melon extract with olive oil, pure olive oil, nitrofurazone, and saline in the healing of ischemic wounds. A sample group of 48 rats was used in the trial. Their wounds were treated with bitter melon extract, pure olive oil, nitrofurazone, and saline. Data were collected between October 2014 and April 2015. The highest percentage (94.7%) of wound healing was observed in the bitter melon extract group and the lowest percentage (86.3%) in the nitrofurazone group. At the end of the 21st day, macroscopic reepithelialization was observed in 9 wounds in the bitter melon extract group (75%), in 6 wounds in the pure olive oil group (50%), and in only 3 wounds in the nitrofurazone and saline groups (25%). It can be concluded that dressing with a bitter melon extract is more efficient in the treatment of wounds than using nitrofurazone or saline, and that dressing with olive oil accelerates wound healing, although not as much as dressing with bitter melon extract.

Prangos Platychlaena Boiss Essential Oils: A Novel Study on Its Toxicity, Antibacterial Activity and Chemical Compositions Effect on Burn Rats

“…The disruption in normal skin may causes infection and alter homeostasis, the infection of a wound was and still regarded as one of the common diseases in our country (18). The healing of the wound is a complex process in dermal regeneration and the epidermal tissues, because some biological mechanisms such as inflammation, antimicrobial and wound contraction were involved in this process (14). According to our results, the cream which contains 1% and 8% of the essential oil showed less time in healing for wounds in compare with the other groups, as the flowers essential oils contain the major active phytochemical compounds such as (E)β-Ocimene, Bornyl acetate, γ-Terpinene, p-Cymene, α-Pinene, Sylvestrene and Terpinolene, Table1.…”