Peruvian wound treatment explained

Trials with mice confirm that a traditional Peruvian medicine can help heal wounds, report researchers based in Kentucky and Peru (J. Nat. Prod., published online May 28, dx.doi.org/10.1021/np0601152). Peruvians use an infusion of a plant called Anredera diffusa to wash wounds. They also use the wet leaves of the plant, which is commonly known as lloto, as a wound dressing. Gerald B. Hammond of the University of Louisville, Abraham J. Vaisberg of Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, and their colleagues found that an ethanolic extract of the plant's leaves and stems showed wound-healing activity in mice and was nontoxic. After hydrolyzing and fractionating the extract, the team determined that the wound-healing fraction contained oleanolic acid (shown). The researchers found that wounds treated with the compound heal significantly faster than untreated wounds. Oleanolic acid is an inexpensive, commercially available product that is currently used in skin care products.