Evaluation of Burns Wound Healing Properties of Different Varieties of Honey from Cameroun

Introduction: The use of local natural products, such as honey, is empirically prescribed in the treatment of burns and several medical conditions.

Aim: This was conducted to evaluate the burn wound healing activity of three types of local types of honey on rats.

Materials and Methods: This was a comparative experimental study held at the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Yaoundé I. We used 3 varieties of honey designated by their cities of origin: Ngaoundal, Okuh, and Yaounde. Brulex® (Zinc Oxide) was our reference medicine against burns. Male rats of the Wistar strain have served as animal material on which the burns were performed. There were 36 individuals divided into 4 groups of 9 rats per batch for treatment with reference medicine and 3 honey samples. We realized experimental burns under general anesthesia by a heated mass. The surface areas were calculated using Autodesk AutoCAD 2014® software. The photos were taken using an XTIGI V10® telephone. At the various dates selected, the wound surfaces calculated for each batch were expressed in the form of the mean ± standard deviation.

Results: There wa no significant variation in pH and free acidity. Okuh honey is the most acidic (pH 5.73 ± 0.682). Concerning the Brix degree, the least sweet honey is that of Okuh (73.94 ± 0.115). There is a significant difference in the Brix degree between these three samples (p=0.00000009; Table 1). The richest honey in metabolites was that of Ngaoundal, with polyphenols of 323.79±53.57 mEq/kg, flavonoids of 47.45±3.84 mEq/kg and total flavonols of 21 .82±0.90 mEq/kg.

Concerning the evolution of the healing process, the group of rats treated with Brulex® showed the largest injured surfaces on day 0 (8.83 ± 2.34 cm2), the least extensive being those of the Okuh group (6.83 ± 0.66 cm2). On the 24th day, the smallest areas were in order those of the Ngaoundal, Yaounde, and Okuh lots. While the rats in the Brulex® and negative control lots were not yet completely cured. On histology sections, Okuh, Yaoundé, and Ngaoundal groups had slight fibrosis, hypervascularization and an abundance of immune cells.

Conclusion: The three honey type seem effective in burn wound care and can be suggested.