Injury is damage from the skin, mucous membranes and bones or other organs of the body can cause a traumatic effect. The slow process of wound healing can be caused by bacterial infections such as staphylococcus aureus which cause wound infections that are pyogenic and cause infectious diseases in wounds that affect inflammation of festering to abscesses.
Until now, the development of modern medicine has led back to nature (Back to nature) and traditional medicines are proven to be safer and do not cause side effects such as chemical drugs. Red betel leaf (Piper crocatum) is a plant that has been used by the community as medicine. Red betel leaf contains compounds such as flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, essential oils, saponins, polyphenols.
As an anti-bacterial, flavonoid compounds work by forming complex compounds with extracellular proteins and disrupting the integrity of bacterial cell membranes. While the alkaloid compounds in red betel leaves work as an antibacterial through the mechanism of the constituent components of peptidoglycan on bacterial cells. So that it can cause the bacterial cell wall layer is not formed intact and cause bacterial cell death. Tannin compounds are efficacious as antibacterial by tannin mechanism, which can damage the bacterial cell membrane. Tannin astringent compounds can induce the formation of complexes of bonding compounds with microbial enzymes or substrates. Whereas saponin compounds can trigger the formation of collagen by forming new tissues, namely structural proteins that play a role in the process of wound healing. Saponin compounds have the ability as an antiseptic, so it is very effective for open wound healers. So that it can be proven that the red betel leaf as an antibacterial for healing wound cuts in mice infected with Staphylococcus aureus.
This study used 20 female white rat experimental animals divided randomly into five groups so that each group consisted of 4 animals. All groups of mice were shaved feathers on the back area of ​​3 cm x 2.5 cm. Mice were anesthetized with ketamine at a dose of 0.1 ml per cow. Next, a 2 cm incision, 0.25 cm deep and 0.01 cm wide in the shaved area. Red betel extract treatment was carried out three times a day at 06.00 am 02.00 pm and 10.00 pm was dropped using two drops of pasteur pipette and then made histopathological preparations on the 10th day.
Examination of wound healing is done using a microscope. Data obtained in the form of neutrophils, macrophages, fibroblasts and angiogenesis were analyzed using ANOVA followed by BNJ test. Collagen density was analyzed using Kruskall-Wallis followed by Mann-Whitney. Based on the results of the analysis it can be concluded that the administration of red betel leaf extract (Piper crocatum) can improve the histopathological picture of the skin incision wound of white rats infected with Staphylococcus aureus whose effect is the same as 10% povidon iodine.
We believe that red betel leaves can be used to heal cut wounds infected by Staphylococcus aureus. Treatment of infection by Staphylococcus aureus using antibiotics until now has experienced resistance. So the use of natural ingredients such as red betel leaves can be an option to return to nature in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases that are resistant to antibiotics.
Author: Prof., Dr. Wurlina, MS., Drh
Details of the research available at:
Wurlina, Dewa Ketut Meles, I Dewa Putu Anom Adnyana, Rochiman Sasmita, Cempaka Putri (2019). Biological study of Piper crocatum leaves ethanol extract improving the skin histopathology of wistar rat wound infected by Staphylococcus aureus. EurAsian Journal of BioSciences 13: 219-221
