Evaluation of the efficacy of Quince mucilage on wound healing

Background and aim: Improvement of wound healing in normal subjects and in chronic ulcers has been always desired. The availablity and acceptability of herbal medicine led us to study the effect of topical 10% mucilage of quince seed in human skin.Materials and Methods: This double-blind clinical trial has been conducted on 34 patients referring to Imam Hospital, clinic of dermatology for elective surgery or excisional biopsy of benign lesions. The patients were divided into 3 groups and their lesions were treated with either 10% quince mucilage or eucerin or left untreated. The wound surface was measured on the days 0, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 20. The data were analyzed by ANOVA.Results: The mean duration of complete healing was 10.72 days in quince mucilage, 15.62 days in eucerin, and 16.7 days in untreated group (P<0.05).Conclusion:10% quince mucilage ointment improved wound healing. Further and larger studies are needed to evaluate the quince mucilage effect and its possible application for patients suffering form chronic ulcers.