Department of Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.
Int Wound J. 2012 Dec;9(6):650-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-481X.2011.00933.x. Epub 2012 Feb 1.
Carica papaya L. (Linn) (Caricaceae) is traditionally used to treat various skin disorders, including wounds. It is widely used in developing countries as an effective and readily available treatment for various wounds, particularly burns. This study evaluated the wound-healing and antimicrobial activity of C. papaya seed extract. Ethanol extract of C. papaya seed (50 mg/kg/day) was evaluated for its wound-healing activity in Sprague-Dawley rats using excision wound model. Animals were randomly divided into four groups of six each (group 1 served as control, group 2 treated with papaya seed extract, group 3 treated with a standard drug mupirocin and papaya seed extract (1:1 ratio) and group 4 treated with a mupirocin ointment. Rate of wound contraction and hydroxyproline content were determined to assess the wound-healing activity of the seed extract. The group 2 animals showed a significant decrease in wound area of 89% over 13 days when compared with groups 1 (82%), 3 (86%) and 4 (84%) respectively. The hydroxyproline content was significantly higher with the granulation tissue obtained from group 2 animals which were treated with C. papaya seed extract. Histological analysis of granulation tissue of the group 2 animals showed the deposition of well-organized collagen. The extract exhibited antimicrobial activity against Salmonella choleraesuis and Staphylococcus aureus. Our results suggest that C. papaya promotes significant wound healing in rats and further evaluation for this activity in humans is suggested.
番木瓜（Carica papaya L.）（番木瓜科）传统上用于治疗各种皮肤疾病，包括伤口。它在发展中国家被广泛用作各种伤口，特别是烧伤的有效且易于获得的治疗方法。本研究评估了番木瓜种子提取物的伤口愈合和抗菌活性。使用切除伤口模型，在 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠中评估番木瓜种子的乙醇提取物（50mg/kg/天）的伤口愈合活性。动物随机分为四组，每组 6 只（第 1 组作为对照，第 2 组用番木瓜种子提取物治疗，第 3 组用标准药物莫匹罗星和番木瓜种子提取物（1:1 比例）治疗，第 4 组用莫匹罗星软膏治疗。测定伤口收缩率和羟脯氨酸含量，以评估种子提取物的伤口愈合活性。与第 1 组（82%）、第 3 组（86%）和第 4 组（84%）相比，第 2 组动物的伤口面积在 13 天内显著减少了 89%。用番木瓜种子提取物治疗的第 2 组动物的肉芽组织中的羟脯氨酸含量显著升高。第 2 组动物的肉芽组织的组织学分析显示，胶原蛋白沉积良好。提取物对霍乱沙门氏菌和金黄色葡萄球菌表现出抗菌活性。我们的结果表明，番木瓜可显著促进大鼠的伤口愈合，建议进一步在人类中评估其活性。
