Indian Scientists Develop Eco-Friendly Wound Dressing from Banana Fibres
In a remarkable feat of innovation, Indian scientists have introduced an eco-friendly wound dressing material crafted from banana fibres, offering a sustainable solution for wound care.
India, renowned as the world’s largest banana-farming nation, witnesses a surplus of banana pseudo stems post-harvest, typically discarded as agricultural waste.
Pioneering efforts led by scientists at the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), under the Department of Science and Technology, have ingeniously repurposed these pseudo stems into an eco-friendly wound dressing material.
Under the guidance of Prof. Devasish Chowdhury and Prof. (Retd) Rajlakshmi Devi, alongside research scholar Mridusmita Barman, the team combined banana fibres with biopolymers such as chitosan and guar gum, creating a versatile patch with remarkable mechanical strength and antioxidant properties.
Furthermore, the researchers incorporated an extract from the Vitex negundo L. plant into the patch, showcasing its potential in vitro drug release and antibacterial properties. Notably, all materials utilized in this innovative dressing material are natural and locally available, ensuring a straightforward, cost-effective, and non-toxic manufacturing process.
“This breakthrough opens avenues for a new era in wound healing, providing an affordable, dependable, and environmentally friendly alternative with substantial biomedical research potential,” says Prof. Chowdhury. The banana fiber-biopolymer composite dressing promises to revolutionize wound care with its wide-ranging applications, offering positive implications for health and the environment.
Elsevier has recently published this groundbreaking research in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, further underscoring its significance in the scientific community.
