Most of us are liable to sustain different types of wounds throughout our life as we partake in daily activities. Wounds are injuries which break the skin or other tissues of body. They include cuts, scratches, scrapes and punctured skin. They usually happen as a result of an accident. However, surgery, sutures, and stitches can also cause wounds.
Wound healing starts as soon as the injury takes place. Wound healing takes place in four phases as:
- Hemostasis: this phase starts immediately upon injury. In this phase there is a short period of vasoconstriction, which is followed by vasodilation and an increased permeability of the blood vessels. This results in an overall increase in blood flow to the nearby tissues that enable the infiltration of the wound site with leukocytes as monocytes and neutrophils. This phase is responsible for stopping the bleeding.
- Inflammation: During inflammation phase there is an increase in pain, redness swelling, and warmth at the wound site. This happens as a result of an increased blood circulation to the affected area.
- Proliferation: Proliferation acts primarily by forming new granulation and epithelial tissue. The length of this phase varies depending on the size of the wound.
- Remodeling: This is final phase in which collagen fibers within the new tissue are restructured to figure a more uniform lattice structure. The remodeling process is attained over longer periods of time, usually years, unlike the other phases of wound healing.
In the inflammation phase of wound healing, cytokines and neutrophils generate oxidants as reactive nitrogen species or reactive oxygen species. These substances work as free radicals which are highly reactive species. Free radicals take electrons from neighboring molecules to satisfy its need of valence electrons. This removal of electrons delays wound healing or cause damage within the healthy cells. Therefore, in response to the oxidative stress taking place at the wound site due to free radicals, antioxidants can be used. The use of antioxidants reestablishes the required environment for wound healing.
Antioxidants work by donating electrons to the free radicals. Thus, they prevent the destructive effects of an oxidation reaction on tissues. Therefore, the adequate intake of antioxidants throughout the wound eases the wound healing.
Nowadays, both natural and synthetic antioxidants are available for use. The synthetic antioxidants are not desirable as they can cause certain side effects. Therefore it is better to use natural antioxidants such as Squalene. Squalene is an excellent antioxidant as it has great capacity to receive or donate electrons without undergoing molecular disruption.
The consumption of Squalene can neutralize the free radicals. Therefore, to ease the process of wound healing Squalene intake can be highly beneficial.
