Research has found that Samoan traditional plant-based medicine tested by scientists have proven to be effective for healing wounds.
Samoa Observer reports the research, published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology last Friday, studied 14 plants which were made into ethanol extracts and had positive effects on wounds, burns and sores.
Ten of the plants, including fue saina, mamala and fuafua successfully stopped the growth of staphylococcus aureus (a bacteria that causes many common skin infections), while six others including futu and ifi proved effective at spurring skin healing.
Fiti Laupu’a, a research scientist from the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa, contributed to the study, alongside researchers from the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague.
The research has found that chronic wounds that do not heal are becoming a growing problem worldwide, and pressure sores are quickly becoming the third most expensive disorder after cancer and heart diseases.
“As the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics continues and controversy regarding the use of topical antiseptics persists, the identification and development of new antimicrobial agents that are cost-efficient, safe, broadly effective, and have a low propensity to induce resistance, is urgently needed,” the research states.
The report says despite the well-documented and rich tradition of the use of local herbs for the treatment of skin injuries in Samoan folk medicine, their wound healing potential has not yet been systematically studied.
According to the research, the majority of the plants did not cause any significant harm to the samples they were tested on, making them scientifically proven to be safe to use on humans.
Only leva was found to be highly toxic to the samples.
“The results suggest that extracts from Samoan medicinal plants are promising materials for further research and development of new plant-derived wound healing agents,” said the report.
Photo: Mamala tree
