IN VITRO EVALUATION OF SIDDHA-BASED RANANGALUKKU MEZHUGU KALIMBU (RMK) FOR ACCELERATED WOUND HEALING USING HUMAN DERMAL FIBROBLASTS
Dhinakaran T.*, Anand R. and Sujatha S.
ABSTRACT
Traditional Siddha medicine provides various external treatments for managing wounds, with Ranangalukku Mezhugu Kalimbu (RMK)—a sulphur-based semisolid formulation—being one of the most notable. This research investigates the effectiveness of RMK in promoting wound healing using an in vitro scratch assay model on human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells. The impact of RMK (50 μg/mL) on cell migration and wound closure was evaluated over 48 hours, in comparison with a standard reference medication (Cipladine) and an untreated control group. RMK exhibited a significant and time-dependent enhancement in wound closure, achieving 56.04% closure at the 24-hour mark and 98.73% at 48 hours—comparable to the reference, which achieved 99.68%. Quantitative analysis of images using ImageJ validated that RMK significantly boosted fibroblast migration and regeneration. Despite variations in initial wound sizes, RMK consistently accelerated the healing process with reduced variability compared to the controls. These results reinforce the traditional application of RMK in treating chronic wounds and provide a basis for further mechanistic investigations into its properties that promote migration and regeneration.
Keywords: Siddha medicine, Wound healing, Ranangalukku Mezhugu Kalimbu, Human dermal fibroblasts, Scratch assay.
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