Wound healing effects of Bambusa vulgaris leaves

We read with great interest an article entitled “Preliminary investigation for wound healing and anti-inflammatory effects of Bambusa vulgaris leaves in rat” by Lodhi et al. [1]. The article is thorough and explanatory but we would like to add the following to expand the scope of this experiment for additional benefit in wound healing process. Wound healing is a biological process which occurs naturally. Thus, healing is an inevitable outcome and wound healing is taken for granted. If one debrides the wound of non-viable tissue and repairs it in a physiologic manner, the normal phases of wound healing, that is reaction, regeneration and remodeling should proceed without difficulty within definite period of time [2]. However, infection is one of the leading causes for non-healing of wounds in addition to repeated trauma and ischemia. The presence of bacteria and bacterial products such as endotoxins and metalloproteinases can cause disturbances in this orderly scheme and affect each of the processes of wound healing [3,4]. It is clear from the study protocol that the authors have studied the effect of B. vulgaris leaves extract on freshly created incised and excised wounds that were not showing any sign of infection and were free from infecting organisms. As wound infection is one of the major obstacles in the healing process causing delay in wound healing, it is difficult to ascertain the efficacy of B. vulgaris in healing process of wounds, which are not infected with any organisms. Authors of this article claim that the flavonoids of B. vulgaris have been documented to have antibacterial activity. We do agree with the statement that flavonoids are present in B. vulgaris leaves and they are known to have antimicrobial activity but in the present study no attempt has been made to study the antimicrobial property of this important medicinal plant either in vitro against common bacterial pathogens or in vivo against experimentally infected wounds. The authors of this article have finally concluded that B. vulgaris leaves contain amino acids, vitamins and ascorbic acid and because of these reasons, the leaves have been reported to promote healing by earlier researchers. Authors of this article further add that these findings have been further substantiated by results of their study showing significant increase in the rate of wound contraction and enhanced epithelization. The authors also claim that their study reveals that one of the possible mechanisms of wound healing promotion is by its antioxidant property. We do agree with all the