Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Saliva Found to Have Genuine Wound Healing Properties

Source:http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/health?type=healthNews&w1=B7ovpm21IaDoL40ZFnNfGe&w2=B9QtAZ2UC
cOq5iPRJnVhIQk&src=blogBurst_healthNews&bbPostId=Cz4SF5V0TRbkgCzEe
jN0A9E8sEBzxOORvZRjYhCz4lW3kPdmSgY&bbParentWidgetId=B9QtAZ2UCcOq5
iPRJnVhIQk

According to the article, the substance found in our saliva, called histatin is responsible for making our wounds heal quicker. What’s good about this information is because our saliva is economical and  is mass-produced. In addition, the Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal Gerald Weismann, MD said, “This study not only answers the biological question of why animals lick their wounds, but it also explains why wounds in the mouth, like those of a tooth extraction, heal much faster than comparable wounds of the skin and bone. It also directs us to begin looking at saliva as a source for new drugs.” Therefore, our saliva must have strong healing powers in it. The scientists who discovered this data made an extraction by using the epithelial cells, the inner lining of the cheek, and cultured them until all were sheltered with cells. Next step for them was to make a synthetic cut in the cell layer in every plate, by scratching a minor piece of the cells away. And then after the several steps, it was discovered that the dish submerged in human saliva healed faster, hence, the protein histatin was responsible for it.


With this, it just shows that we still yet have many to discover about the human body and its components, and it is good to know that our scientists persistently seek for it and do an extensive examination about it. Who knew that even our saliva has its own healing powers when its purpose is to lubricate and protect the teeth, the tongue, and the subtle tissues inside our mouth. This study may be of help to the people suffering from chronic wounds related to diabetes and also other injuries and burns. I just hope further study would be made by the scientists about this matter, also to broaden the knowledge of the people and may benefit us as well. 

1 comment:

fioey09 said...

I once heard that a tiger's saliva can be used as an antiseptic. However, i never had an idea that our own saliva actually had beneficial effects on our wounds. If this is true then its good news since we can just keep on licking our wounds, literally.