Maggots Research Paper

maggot therapy mechanisms of action
Medicinal maggots have at least two confirmed beneficial effects on wounds that can be supported by laboratory investigations. They are debridement, or elimination of necrotic tissue, and removal of pathogenic bacteria. There is moreover, evidence from recent studies that they may also accelerate wound healing by promoting the formation of granulation tissue as suggested by the early literature,
Wound debridement activity

Necrophagous larvae feed on the dead tissue, cellular debris, and serous drainage (exudate) of corpses or necrotic wounds. Maggots, contrary to popular belief, do not have teeth and therefore cannot actively `chew away' dead tissue. They feed mainly by a process of extracorporeal digestion. Secreted collagenases and trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like enzymes have been described1-8, which breakdown the necrotic tissue into a semi-liquid form that the
It was suggested that the secretions that were responsible for the antimicrobial effect could also account for the growth-promoting activity of maggots. It was even claimed that the abundant growth of granulation tissue was, at least in part, a response to the physical stimulation of the maggots crawling over the wound33 although this is now considered unlikely. Allantoin, (2,5-Dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl) urea, a product of purine metabolism found in maggot secretions but first isolated from Comfry root and still used today in some cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, was claimed to be responsible for this effect34. Ammonium bicarbonate21 and urea, too, were found to be active constituents. Subsequently, allantoin and urea35 ammonium bicarbonate21 and mixtures of calcium carbonate with picric acid36 were being used in wound healing as alternatives to live maggots, with some reported