There is no consensus on the properties of an ideal dressing for treating wounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of dressings using topically administered bitter melon extract with olive oil, pure olive oil, nitrofurazone, and saline in the healing of ischemic wounds. | Turkish Journal of Biology Turk J Biol (2018) 42: 506-516 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Effectiveness of bitter melon extract in the treatment of ischemic wounds in rats 1, 2 3 4 Öznur GÜRLEK KISACIK * , Ülkü GÜNEŞ , Mustafa Volkan YAPRAKÇI , Korhan ALTUNBAŞ Department of Basic Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Afyonkarahisar Health Science University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey 2 Department of Basic Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Ege University, Bornova, İzmir, Turkey 3 Department of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey 4 Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey 1 Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: There is no consensus on the properties of an ideal dressing for treating wounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of dressings using topically administered bitter melon extract with olive oil, pure olive oil, nitrofurazone, and saline in the healing of ischemic wounds. A sample group of 48 rats was used in the trial. Their wounds were treated with bitter melon extract, pure olive oil, nitrofurazone, and saline. Data were collected between October 2014 and April 2015. The highest percentage () of wound healing was observed in the bitter melon extract group and the lowest percentage () in the nitrofurazone group. At the end of the 21st day, macroscopic reepithelialization was observed in 9 wounds in the bitter melon extract group (75%), in 6 wounds in the pure olive oil group (50%), and in only 3 wounds in the nitrofurazone and saline groups (25%). It can be concluded that dressing with a bitter melon extract is more efficient in the treatment of wounds than using nitrofurazone or saline, and that dressing with olive oil accelerates wound healing, although not as much as .
