Delayed Wound Healing? Topical Curcumin Accelerates Wound Healing

#1

If rapamycin delays wound healing, it might be good to have something available to support and enhance healing of wounds.
Two products which are often on hand and may promote healing are curcumin and tretinoin. Mixed with an antibiotic ointment, this combination would seem to me to be preferable as a salve than antibiotic ointment alone, Vaseline, or cortisone cream.

doi: 10.2174/1389201017666160721123109.

Wound Healing Effects of Curcumin: A Short Review
Wound healing is a complex process that consists of several phases that range from coagulation, inflammation, accumulation of radical substances, to proliferation, formation of fibrous tissues and collagen, contraction of wound with formation of granulation tissue and scar.
Curcumin, the most active component of rhizome of Curcuma longa L. (common name: turmeric), has been studied for many years due to its bio-functional properties, especially antioxidant, radical scavenger, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities, which play a crucial role in the wound healing process. Moreover, curcumin stimulated the production of the growth factors involved in the wound healing process, and so curcumin also accelerated the management of wound restoration. The aim of

DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2014.08.016
Curcumin has been shown to possess significant anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic, anti-coagulant and anti-infective effects. Curcumin has also been shown to have significant wound healing properties. It acts on various stages of the natural wound healing process to hasten healing. This review summarizes and

Although the value of retinoids in chronic wounds is unclear, topical tretinoin (0.05-0.1%) has been shown to accelerate re-epithelialisation of dermabraded and chemically peeled wounds in humans, and partial and full thickness wounds in animal models

topical curcumin
topical curcumin722Ă—483 89.5 KB

Any thoughts about this idea? How would you proportion the ingredients?

4 Likes
#2

I really like this. I have curcumin powder and will try it next time. I had no idea.

I usually just use DMSO, great stuff for wounds and burns. I wonder if you could mix them and get something really great.

1 Like
#4

Did you find any studies comparing Curcumin to other products in wound healing?

#5

I didn’t find any comparisons between topical cumin and other topical applications. I did find an article which described the preparation of a curcumin gel.

In this experiment on radiation-induced skin damage in piglets, a curcumin gel stimulated wound healing.

“Exposure of skin to irradiation significantly delayed wound healing, as observed at various post-irradiation time points. However, curcumin treatment attenuated the radiation-induced delayed healing of the biopsy wound 3 days after irradiation”

Preparation of the gel included first dissolving the curcumin in ethanol and mixing with water and thickener. It was further modified and pH adjusted.

1 Like
#6

A cautionary note on Turmeric.

In this instance, black pepper works the same as grapefruit juice does with rapamycin. It dramatically increases the bioavailability.

2 Likes
#7

Thanks. That’s new information. I couldn’t access the full document so I cant comment on the quality of the study, and I don’t even know the doses and duration of use, but its good to know in any event as a cautionary note about regular curcumin supplementation.

I take curcumin with piperine several (3 or 4) days a month, only on days when I don’t want to be activating CYP3A4. Anyone taking it on a regular basis should be aware of these case studies and at the very least monitor their liver enzymes.

I wouldn’t have any concern about using topical curcumin in a wound dressing over a period of a few days or a week. More than that, now I wonder.

1 Like
#8

Interesting thread - thanks for posting.

#9

Another wild card.

…and found that a specific genetic risk known as HLA-B*35:01 in humans could increase risk of liver injury due to turmeric use! So some people may be affected worse than others.

1 Like
#10

The thread topic is on delayed wound healing. I was wondering if anyone had experienced delayed healing? Was trying to search the forum for more on the topic and couldn’t find a whole lot. Mixed messages is what I’m seeing.

I’m curious, because I feel like I’m seeing the opposite. 2 weeks ago I was doing some DIY home remodel, demo day! I cut/scrapped myself 3 times. One of the cuts was decently deep. The first thing I noticed, on all 3 injuries I stopped bleeding very very quickly. I know this is something that isn’t easily measured, but I’ve been getting small scraps/dings like this for a long time and I regularly bleed considerably longer.

I cleaned the wounds, put anti-biotic ointment on them and closed them up with a bandaid. Next day I took them off and looked at how things were going and the cut was closed up pretty good. Was able to remove the bandaids. Within about 3 or 4 days the cut had all but healed (reminded me of when I was a kid). I asked my wife if she thought it was irregular and she agreed.

Has anyone else experienced quicker healing? I haven’t changed or added anything else to my life in the last 3 months outside of taking rapamycin at a fairly low dosage.

2 Likes