Researchers document how the asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta) can be used to promote wound healing in diabetics

A Bangladeshi study demonstrated that the asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta) could encourage the healing process in diabetic animals. When the plant’s ethanolic extract was administered to diabetic rats via oral and topical means, the wounds closed faster compared to untreated animals.

The study was supported by Primeasia University. The researchers published their findings in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

• Samples of the asthma plant were processed into an ethanolic extract. The extract was tested for phytochemical components. The results were compared to galic acid and quercetin.
• Diabetic rats with excision wounds were treated with different doses of asthma plant extract. They received either oral doses of 100, 200, or 400 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) or topical doses of a five or 10 percent ointment at 50 mg/kg. The treatment lasted for 16 days after the wounds were inducted on the animals.
• Researchers analyzed the rate at which the wound closed. They also measured the diabetic wound healing mechanism. All healing activities were confirmed by examining blood and tissue samples from the animals.
• Both oral and topical treatment with asthma plant extracts greatly improved the rates at which the wounds closed in diabetic rats. The oral administration was the more effective approach; it also lowered the levels of blood glucose and free radicals in the treated animals.
• The extract contained numerous phytochemicals, including phenols and flavonoids.

The researchers reported that asthma plant extracts greatly improved wound healing in diabetic animals.

The full study can be browsed at this link. You can also learn more about natural medicines that assist wound healing in diabetics at DiabetesScienceNews.com.

Journal reference

Tuhin RH, Begum MM, Rahman MS, Karim R, Begum T, Ahmed SU, Mostofa R, Hossain A, Abdel-Daim M, Begum R. WOUND HEALING EFFECT OF EUPHORBIA HIRTA LINN. (EUPHORBIACEAE) IN ALLOXAN INDUCED DIABETIC RATS. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 24 August 2017;17(423). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-017-1930-x.