Banana (Musa acuminata) Pseudostem Fiber and Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) Mucilage as an Alternative Surgical Suture

Authors

  • Marivie Magana
  • Grace Julianne Medina
  • Pauleen Duran

Keywords:

surgical suture, mucilage, pseudostem

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Surgical sutures play an essential role in the field of medicine. The two main types are non-absorbable sutures and absorbable sutures. Non-absorbable sutures are more commonly used, but the problem is that these are non-biodegradable and can cause additional waste. The latter are also used but not that much due to its way of production; these are made up of catgut, which are from small intestines of cattle, sheep or goats. Despite how good the qualities of the commercial products nowadays, no one can put out of sight that most of them have already harmed animals. The pursuit to develop a non-absorbable, cruelty-free and inexpensive suture urged the researchers to create a suture with these characteristics with the use of banana pseudostem fiber and okra extract.

METHODS

Raw materials were collected ; the fibers were then separated from the stalk through scraping after washing it thoroughly. After that, the fibers collected were once again washed with distilled water and were air dried for a day. To make the actual suture, three strands were twisted and brushed with okra mucilage to make the twist firm. Okra mucilage was produced by boiling okra until it thickens. It will be filtered using a fine strainer. Okra mucilage served as the binder of strands and for the sterilization of the suture.

RESULTS

Result showed from the previous research that the suture made from banana fibers was comparable to the commercial surgical suture when it comes to breaking force. Commercial product suture is 18.55 N while the suture made from banana fiber and okra extract is 13.77 N. When it comes to average elongation at break commercial product is 17.4% and the banana fiber and okra extract is 2.3%. The absorbability and sterility of the surgical sutures was comparable to banana stalk as both of them have exhibited the same healing duration. With the use of commercial product, the wound healed faster than with the use of banana stalk, but both healed in 6 days. There's no need to use another process for sterilization because okra mucilage has an anti-bacterial property so as the extract was being applied to the suture for binding, the sterilization also takes place.

DISCUSSIONS

The cruelty-free produced suture was able to close a wound just like the commercially produced one. The production cost of this suture is low compared to the commonly used sutures. With the results, banana stalk and okra mucilage can be an alternative surgical suture comparable to the commercial suture according to their quality.

Published

2019-01-18