Key Points:
- Bandages infused with casein, an abundant protein found in cow’s milk, helped advance wound healing.
- In tests, casein-infused bandages healed to 5.2% of their original size, compared with 31.1% seen the normal bandage group.
- The chemical composition and potency of natural substances can vary, so more safety research is needed.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers showed that bandages infused with casein—a protein that occurs naturally in cow’s milk—significantly improved wound healing in rats, compared with control groups. The results suggest that casein, which is inexpensive, abundant and has antimicrobial properties, has the potential to replace expensive materials, such as silver, in wound dressings.
Casein is a protein found in the milk of mammals and is most abundant in cow’s milk, where it comprises up to 80% of the substance.
For the study, published in Interface, rats with identical small skin perforations were split into three groups. The wounds of those in the first group were treated with casein-infused bandages, the second with normal bandages, and the third with no bandages. Healing progress was checked after 3, 7, 10 and 14 days by photographing and measuring the wounds, as well as examining them under a microscope.
The team found that at 14 days the wounds treated with casein-infused bandages healed to 5.2% of their original size, compared with 31.1% in the normal bandage group and 45.6% in the untreated group. Analysis also confirmed that the casein bandages were non-toxic and that levels of immune-related molecules were much lower around the wounds treated with them.
Although the results showed the casein bandages were non-toxic, more research is needed to ensure safety, particularly because the chemical composition and potency of natural substances can vary.
Given that casein is a waste product of skimmed dairy milk, if it was approved for treatment in humans, it would be relatively inexpensive to produce on a large scale. However, the chemical composition and potency of natural substances can vary, an issue that would need to be tackled if casein were used in healthcare, where consistency is key to safe treatment.
“All the research so far suggests that casein has wound healing potential, but at the moment we don’t really know why in any great detail,” said senior author Mohan Edirisinghe. “Casein has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, which may certainly play a part. The next step will be to understand the biological interactions taking place before we can consider clinical trials in humans.”