Those suffering from painful diabetic foot ulcers or chronic wounds may soon find succour in eco-friendly wound-dressing material based on cost-effective but nutrition-enriched “wonder plants of the sea” seaweed agar.
The brain behind this innovation, Dr Vivek Verma, scientist from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, said this indigenous dressing for chronic wound has been developed by adding several additive molecules like iodine and citric acid besides seaweeds which have myriad properties from being anti-oxidants, dietary fiber, essential amino acids, food to bio-stimulants and carbon sequestration.
The invention which has been supported by the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies programme of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) is in the third stage, tested on rat models that provide agar dressing films for the treatment of infected diabetic wounds. The dressing may be used as a single layer, bilayer, or multi-layered hydrogel films depending on the severity and type of wound. Diabetic foot ulcers are a major reason for lower limb amputations, disability, and death among patients.
The next step would be to test its efficacy in the treatment of large wounds in big animals like rabbits or pigs and the final stage will include clinical trials. Once successful, the technology can be commercialized in the market as single or all ingredient loaded uni/multilayer dressing material, said Dr Verma.
The advanced wound dressing market in India is largely monopolised by foreign companies. Hence, the indigenous dressing based on seaweeds, widely available on the country’s huge coastal land will not only allow cost-effective dressings for chronic wound patients but also will pave the way for business incubation
In fact, realising the huge potential of seaweeds which have a huge domestic and global market, India is already taking various steps to promote its cultivation among the cooperatives with the National Cooperatives Development Cooperation (NCDC) hand-holding such entities to be self-sustaining in the sector. The Government has already allocated Rs 637 crore for the cultivation of these nutrition-rich marine plants, as part of its Rs 20,050-crore central scheme Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).