In folkloric medicine, many people know that mango tree bark is used to treat toothache, urinary tract infection, anaemia and diabetes. But, in a new study, researchers say that unripe mangos’ rind and pulp is also a good remedy for dressing open sores that most often appear on the bottom of the foot of individuals with diabetes.
People with uncontrolled diabetes may develop poor circulation. As circulation slows down, blood moves more slowly which makes it more difficult for the body to deliver nutrients to wounds. As a result, the open sore heals slowly, or may not heal at all.
Unfortunately, a lower limb or part is said to be lost to amputation every 30 seconds somewhere in the world sequel to diabetes.
Researchers at the University of Ibadan looking at the plausible role of mango pulp and rind as a tropical wound dressing material in diabetic rats said these may serve as substitutes to sofratulle in the management of diabetic foot ulcers. It was in the 2020 edition of the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medical Research.
They found that extracts of unripe mango pulp and rind when used as wound dressing materials had the same endpoint comparable to those of sofratulle and normal saline in diabetic Wistar rats. The specific wound contraction rates of pulp and rind compared favourably with those of the sofratulle and normal saline.
Contraction can result in complete and normal wound closure; however, abnormalities may cause incomplete and abnormal healing
The mango tree has many medicinal and health values attributable to its parts. Its stem bark has been found to ameliorate toothache, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections and anaemia.
Extract of mango stem was able to lower blood glucose levels in rats with induced diabetes.
For the study, 48 healthy inbred adult female Wistar rats were initially divided into two equal groups of 24 each, a group that subsequently had induced diabetes mellitus.
Mango stem bark powder and its ethanolic extract were used as a wound dressing material for their excised skin wounds. The wounds were dressed daily and prior to dressing, wound size estimations were done.
The mango powder groups (control and diabetic) had the highest average wound contraction rates next to them were the mango extract groups, these observations might be explained by the non-essential oil compounds of the mango bark.
The mean contraction rates for the mango bark powder diabetic group were higher than those of the other diabetic groups (mango bark extract, sofratulle and normal saline) throughout the entire duration of the study.
More importantly, these differences were significant at some timeline of the study, connoting that the powder formulation of the bark of mango tree accelerated the wound healing process in diabetic rats in this study.
The ethanolic extract of the bark demonstrated a lower wound healing potential than sofratulle and normal saline in diabetic rats as evidenced by comparably lower mean wound contraction rates. While the converse was the case for the powder formulation of the bark, so the powder of mango bark promoted wound healing faster and better than its ethanolic extract.
The researchers stated that the powder of mango bark promoted wound healing faster and better than its ethanolic extract, and thus if this finding becomes translated to the management of human diabetic foot ulcers, it is likely to be more receptive in terms of cost and application as well as consequently, improve quality of life.
They suggested that both the powder and ethanolic extract of mango bark had promoted wound healing in diabetic Wistar rats by enhancing collagen synthesis, reducing inflammatory process and cellular oxidation.
In the last few decades, the increasing popularity of herbal therapy has led wound care specialists to turn to honey for wound care.
The wound healing properties of honey are attributed to the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities
Researchers have demonstrated how honey dressing with and without olive oil could successfully prevent the risk of amputation in the case of diabetic foot ulcers.
The results of this study reveal that honey is as effective as olive oil in the treatment of the diabetic feet. Indeed, these two substances had similar effects on wound healing.
In one study, the researchers showed that using this combination led to complete healing of the wound over two weeks.
In another, concurrent use of honey and olive oil on healing of a diabetic foot in the calf showed that granulation tissue was created in the wound after five days, and the wound healed completely over 1 month.
Treatment included daily dressing with a mixture of heated honey and olive oil.
Meanwhile, other plants that have been found effective as wound dressing for diabetic ulcers include pawpaw fruit, Radix Rehmanniae, Annona squamosa (custard apple, soursop or apekan in Yoruba), Catharanthus roseus (Rose periwinkle, bambami in Hausa and ewe-epa in Yoruba) and Centella asiatica (wild violet or ewe karo in Yoruba), Punica granatum (Hausa: bambami; Igbo: ububo; Efik: mbom; Yoruba: ewe-epa), Aloe vera and Martynia annua (devil’s claw or “iko odide” in Yoruba).
But further research and clinical trials are recommended to confirm the efficacy and safety of specific medicinal plants and their mechanisms of action on diabetic wound healing.
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President Muhammadu Buhari Friday at State House Abuja urged the MTN Group to make the available top-of-the-range service to its Nigerian subscribers… ‘Diabetic foot ulcer heals faster with mango bark, honey remedies’ ; ‘Diabetic foot ulcer heals faster with mango bark, honey remedies’ ; ‘Diabetic foot ulcer heals faster with mango bark, honey remedies’; ‘Diabetic foot ulcer heals faster with mango bark, honey remedies’
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