Effectiveness of turmeric extract and honey combination to facilitate wound healing in incision wound postgastroromy of rats according to total leukocute value and histopathology

Gastrotomy is a surgical procedure to remove foreign bodies, proliferative ulcers or tumors on the stomach wall by making an incision through the stomach wall. Medications such as gastroprotectants, promotility, stomach acid inhibitors and anti-emetic are given after surgery to support wound healing. At this time, alternative therapies using natural compounds are still rarely used compared to drugs that are produced in general. Turmeric is a natural compound that is widely known to contain curcumin as a bioactive which functions as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, wound healing, anti-tumor, and antipsoriatic. Meanwhile, natural honey produced by honey bees mainly contains fructose, glucose, and other compounds that help reduce bowl disease, general injuries and heat, antimicrobial agents as well as gastric mucosal protectors. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of turmeric extract and honey combination for wound healing in postgastrotomy gastric incision wounds based on total leukocytes and histopathology. Twenty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing approximately 400 grams were divided into five groups. All groups underwent a gastrotomy. Group K1 without treatment, group K2 was treated orally with curcumin extract, group K3 was treated with honey, group K4 was treated with a combination of curcumin extract with honey and group K5 was treated with omeprazole which is the drug of choice to reduce stomach acid (positive control). Blood samples were taken prior to euthanasia for hematological examination especially the total leukocytes after treatment. All mice were euthanized on the tenth day after gastrotomy and gastric tissue from all groups was taken for histopathological examination. The results of statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference (P>0.05) among groups in gastric histopathology. The total leukocytes also did not show a significant difference among groups (P> 0.05). The effectiveness of the combination of turmeric extract and honey shows better results than omperazole. Therefore, further research is needed to obtain the optimal dose of the combination of turmeric extract and honey integrally to achieve the best therapeutic effect of post-gastrotomy gastric wounds.