Effectiveness of indonesian honey on the acceleration of cutaneous wound healing: an experimental study in mice

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Indonesian honey in wound healing compared to Tegaderm hydrocolloid dressing and Manuka honey. Three groups of male mice were treated to produce 2 circular, full-thickness skin wounds on the dorsum. They were then randomly allocated to receive daily Indonesian honey, Manuka honey, or hydrocolloid (control). Macroscopic findings were observed from day 0 to 14 after wounding. Microscopic findings on days 3, 7, 11, and 14 after wounding were obtained. The ratios of wound areas for honey groups on day 3 were smaller than those of the control group. Wound areas of honey groups gradually decreased to almost the same wound area as the control group on day 14, while the control group wound area peaked on day 5 and rapidly decreased until day 14. On day 3, myofibroblasts and new blood capillaries in wound tissue of honey groups were observed, but were not seen in the control group. After day 7, microscopic findings were almost the same among the 3 groups. These results indicate that Indonesian honey is almost as effective for wound healing as Manuka honey and hydrocolloid dressing. .