Wound healing is a rather complex process. Various of the body’s immune-defense and regeneration processes must interlock smoothly here.
Impaired wound healing processes and chronic wounds can be the result of various causes, oftentimes difficult to diagnose. An observational study now confirmed that the wound surface of patients with chronic leprous wounds was significantly reduced by the supply of micronutrients and the proteolytic (protein-reducing) enzyme bromelain.
Successful wound healing needs micronutrients.
It is quite logical that micronutrients play an essential role in healing wounds. Certain vitamins and minerals have a particular influence on the different phases of the wound healing process (inflammation phase, proliferation/repair phase, remodelling phase).
A lack of micronutrients impairs wound healing
The best-known of these micronutrients is certainly vitamin C. It has several functions in the wound healing process. On one hand vitamin C activates immune-defense cells in the inflammation phase, on the other hand it is an essential factor both for the repair andthe remodeling phase. It supports the reconstruction of injured tissue structures and is essential for the biosynthesis of collagen.
Similarly, vitamin D has immune defense tasks in the inflammation phase. Equally essential für the control of inflammation processes is vitamin E. It regulates the inflammatory reactions and – together with zinc, selenium and vitamin C – offers antioxidative protection.
Zinc is absolutely essential for a normal wound healing process. It serves an important purpose in the removal of damaged tissue, in the formation of replacement tissue, in cell migration and in the remodelling phase. Zinc is also involved in neutralizing free radicals that can power inflammation processes in the wound. Selenium also reigns in the formation of radicals in the injured tissue, which can inhibit the proper healing process.
Support through proteolytic enzymes
The proteolytic enzyme bromelain found in pineapples has already been successfully tested as a local, external treatment option. There is also evidence that its oral administration can also promote wound healing.
Some micronutrients are directly and indirectly involved in the maintenance of the immune system and wound healing processes. If there is an insufficient supply of one or more of these micronutrients, this can disrupt or slow down the healing process.
For large wounds, with bromelain, the healed area was 4.4 times larger than with the placebo.
In a study in Sunderpur, India, 118 patients with chronic wounds caused by leprosy infections were supplemented for 60 days with either a bromelain-compound or a placebo. The results of the study showed that a supply with a combination of micronutrients and the proteolytic enzyme bromelain in the patients of a leprosy ward led to a significantly faster healing of chronic wounds.
Thus, the wound surface area for the group who were administered micronutrients decreased 2.5 times more than in the placebo group. The result was particularly clear for wounds with an area of over 4 cm² (0.623 sq. in). Here the healed area was 4.4 times larger under treatment with bromelain than for participants in the placebo group.
