Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science
Pertanika Journal Home Facebook
Pertanika · Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science

Official journal of Universiti Putra Malaysia for peer-reviewed research across tropical agriculture and allied agricultural sciences.

e-ISSN 2231-8542 ISSN 1511-3701
Research article

Honey Hydrogel Dressing to Treat Burn Wound in Rats - A Preliminary Report

Rozaini Mohd. Zohdi, Md. Zuki Abu Bakar@Zakaria, Norimah Yusof, Noordin Mohamed Mustapha, Muhammad Nazrul Hakim Somchit and Asnah Hasan

KeywordsHoney, hydrogel, burn wound healing, wound contraction, rats
Article content

Abstract

Various studies have shown that honey is effective in healing burns and wounds. In this study, Malaysianhoney was incorporated into hydrogel dressing formulation using electron beam irradiation technique andintroduced as Honey Hydrogel dressing. The wound healing efficacy of Honey Hydrogel dressing on deeppartial thickness burns was monitored on the basis of gross appearances, rate of wound contraction andhistopathological changes. Deep partial thickness burns were created by applying an aluminium templatepreheated to 85°C to the backs of rats for 5 s and randomly treated with Honey Hydrogel or hydrogel whilecontrol group received no treatment. Wound appearance was photographed and the rate of wound contractionwas calculated at 7, 14, and 21 days post burn. Rats were euthanized after 21 days of treatment and skin sampleswere taken for histopathological examination. The wounds treated with Honey Hydrogel dressing showedbetter gross appearances and significantly (p<0.05) enhanced the rate of wound contraction as compared tothe control group at 21 days post burn. Faster epithelialization was also seen in the Honey Hydrogel treatedgroup as compared to the other groups, although this was not statistically significant. The results substantiatethe potential efficacy of Honey Hydrogel in accelerating burn wound healing.