Antioxidant Thermogelling Formulation for Burn Wound Healing.

Burns are the most common and devastating form of wounds and are usually accompanied by abnormal inflammation, inadequate extracellular matrix production, reduced angiogenesis, and lack of growth factor stimulation, which can significantly delay wound healing and lead to complications. Pearl powder, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to treat wound healing. In the present study, we found that supercritical CO2 extracted pearl peptides in the size range of ">10kd" have great potential to promote wound healing at the cellular level. Antioxidant hydrogels were designed using selenium-containing block-functionalized PEG/PPG polymers. Pearl peptide components were combined into polymeric materials to develop new promising wound dressings. It was shown that pearl peptide hydrogels increased skin fibroblast viability, enhanced cellular resistance to oxidative stress, enhanced tissue remodeling, promoted angiogenesis, and exhibited enhanced promotion in wound healing.

Efficacy of Water-Soluble Pearl Powder Components Extracted by a CO2 Supercritical Extraction System in Promoting Wound Healing.

Pearl powder is a biologically active substance that is widely used in traditional medicine, skin repair and maintenance. The traditional industrial extraction processes of pearl powder are mainly based on water, acid or enzyme extraction methods, all of which have their own drawbacks. In this study, we propose a new extraction process for these active ingredients, specifically, water-soluble components of pearl powder extracted by a CO2 supercritical extraction system (SFE), followed by the extraction efficiency evaluation. A wound-healing activity was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. This demonstrated that the supercritical extraction technique showed high efficiency as measured by the total protein percentage. The extracts exhibited cell proliferation and migration-promoting activity, in addition to improving collagen formation and healing efficiency in vivo. In brief, this study proposes a novel extraction process for pearl powder, and the extracts were also explored for wound-healing bioactivity, demonstrating the potential in wound healing.

Pearl Powder-An Emerging Material for Biomedical Applications: A Review.

Pearl powder is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine for a variety of indications from beauty care to healthcare. While used for over a thousand years, there has yet to be an in-depth understanding and review in this area. The use of pearl powder is particularly growing in the biomedical area with various benefits reported due to the active ingredients within the pearl matrix itself. In this review, we focus on the emerging biomedical applications of pearl powder, touching on applications of pearl powder in wound healing, bone repairing, treatment of skin conditions, and other health indications.