UNAIR NEWS – Burn wounds are health problems marked with skin injury or other tissue damage. Burn wounds are caused by direct contact with heat or radiation, radioactivity, electricity, friction or chemicals with a 0.7 percent prevalence rate from Indonesia’s population. According to the World Health Organization (2018), there are 265,000 deaths every year worldwide due to burn wounds. In Indonesia, burn wounds cause 195,000 people die every year.
This phenomenon inspired students from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH) and Faculty of Pharmacy (FF) Universitas Airlangga to conduct collaborative research. Akhmad Afifudin Al-Anshori, class 2016 FKH student, Muhamad Kharis Suhud, class 2017 FKH student, and Alif Noviana Ismi class 2016 FF student. The collaboration ran well and they succeeded in inventing transdermal delivery therapy with ashitaba leaves (Angelica keiskei) in the form of ” nanoethosomal gel “for healing burns.
Regarding the research, Afif explained that the idea was outlined in the proposal for the Student Creativity Program (PKM-PE) entitled “Nano Ethosomal Angelica Keiskei Leaf Gel as Transdermal Delivery of Burns Healing”. Under the guidance of Dr. Lilik Maslachah., M.Kes., drh., The proposal passed DIKTI selection and it was entitled to research grants from the Ministry of Research and Higher Education in 2018-2019.
Afif also said that Ashitaba was chosen because it has great potential as traditional medicine. Almost all parts of the plant, he continued, have been empirically used by the community around the Ashitaba plantation located in Ketapanrame Village, Trawas, Mojokerto Regency.
“It is used for several diseases as anti-hypertension, anti-diabetic, and it lowers cholesterol level,” said Afif as head of the research team.
Furthermore, Afif also explained that ashitaba leaves contain flavonoid, tannin, triterpenoid substances which is good antioxidants compared to other parts. The compound, he added, can help repair cell damage due to burn induction.
Moreover, he explained, antioxidants from the leaves of ashitaba can trigger the collagen production and increase the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). Anti-inflammatory activities occur by reducing inflammatory symptoms such as pain, inflammation, and swelling.
“While antibacterial activity works by inhibiting bacterial growth,” he said.
Alif also explained that the efficiency of transdermal system therapy in burns can be given in the form of nanoethosomal gel which is the new vesicular carrier to improve delivery through the skin. The size of the nanoethosomal vesicles can be modulated from microns to 10 nano microns.
“Nanoethosomal gel can improve the bioavailability of the drug and it can penetrate the intercellular space, even in small organs. Another advantage of nanoethosomal gel is that it improves its target specificity of the drug. Drugs in the form of gel are widely used because they dry easily, form a film easy to wash and cool the skin. The gel preparation also has high water content so it can hydrate the stratum corneum, “he explained.
In the end, Afif said that the trial of nanoethosomal gel was performed to Wistar rats induced by burns and it shows significant results.
“We hope that the results of this study can be a scientific reference in improving burnt skin treatment and become the scientific reference on ashitaba leaf nanoparticles in nanoethosomal gel and become a reference for the burn recovery in studies with lab rats models, “he concluded.