ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad—An oldie but hey, it’s a goodie: In 2008, researchers in the West Indies wanted to know Persea Americana’s (aka the avocado) fared on healing wounds (J Wound Care. 2008 Mar;17(3):123-6). Avocado oil’s nutritional profile is rich in nutrient waxes, proteins and minerals, as well as vitamins A, D and E. It is an excellent source of enrichment for dry, damaged or chapped skin.
Therefore, the effect of topical and oral administration of P. americana fruit extract (300 mg/kg/d) on excision and dead-space wound models was evaluated. The rats used in the excision wound model were divided into four groups of five each and received either topical or oral treatment. The rats used in the dea- space wound model were divided into two groups of five each and were treated orally. Healing was assessed by the rate of wound contraction, period of epithelialisation, granulation tissue weight and hydoxyproline content.
In the excision wound model, complete healing (full epithelialisation) was observed on average on day 14 in the rats who receive oral or topical treatment. In contrast, the controls took approximately 17 days to heal completely. The extract-treated wounds were found to epithelialise faster than the controls (P<0.001). Wet and dry granulation tissue weight and the hydroxyproline content of the tissue obtained from extract-treated animals used in the dead space wound model were significantly higher (P<0.05) compared with the controls.
Researchers concluded the rate of wound contraction, epithelialisation time together with the hydroxyproline content and histological observations support the use avocado oil in the management of wound healing.