ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS), which is a standardized mixture of herbal extracts obtained from five plants, has been proven as an efficient hemostatic agent and is still used in emergency situations. It is not known exactly if decreased bleeding has positive or negative effects on muscle healing and fibrosis, so the purpose of this study was to test the effect of ABS on muscle healing and morphology. METHODS: A total of 66 outbred Wistar rats were divided into three control and three experimental subgroups. In the experimental groups, ABS was sprayed on the cut surface of the soleus. In the control groups, a saline solution was sprayed on the cut surface of the soleus. Subgroups were euthanized after 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively. In each subgroup, eight rats were used for the biomechanical study to determine muscle healing and three rats were used for the histopathological investigation. RESULTS: Although muscle strength in the control groups was lower than that of the experimental groups in early weeks, no differences were found between the control and the experimental groups at 4 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: ABS has no negative effect on muscle healing. We also observed that ABS accelerated muscle healing compared to the control group. ABS could be used in hemostasis of open fractures and elective orthopedic surgeries.
