Curcumin, isolated from turmeric, has been known to possess many pharmacologic properties. It has been proven to exhibit remarkable anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Turmeric curcumin may be a good potential agent for wound healing. To further understand its therapeutic mechanisms on wound healing, the antioxidant effects of curcumin on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase induced damage to cultured human keratinocytes and fibroblasts were investigated. Cell viability was assessed by colorimetric assay and quantification of lactate dehydrogenase release. Exposure of human keratinocytes to curcumin at 10 μg/mL showed significant protective effect against hydrogen peroxide. Interestingly, exposure of human dermal fibroblasts to curcumin at 2.5 μg/mL showed significant protective effects against hydrogen peroxide. No protective effects of curcumin on either fibroblasts or keratinocytes against hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase induced damage were found in our present studies. The findings indicate that curcumin indeed possessed powerful inhibition against hydrogen peroxide damage in human keratinocytes and fibroblasts.

We have provided two feasible methods to prepare stable organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes by chemically cross-linking the polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes fabricated from environmentally benign ionic liquids for the first time. A glutaraldehyde (GA)–water solution and a 1,2,7,8-diepoxyoctane (DEO)–n-heptane solution were employed to cross-link PBI membranes. The effects of these cross-linking agents on membrane stability and separation performance toward various solvents, including polar aprotic solvents, have been carefully examined. The GA cross-linking method, with little consumption of traditional organic solvents and energy, yielded a PBI membrane with a high and steady ethanol flux [3.69 L (m² bar h)⁻¹] and ethyl acetate flux [5.21 L (m² bar h)⁻¹]. Although PBI membranes cross-linked by DEO showed lower ethanol and ethyl acetate fluxes, they displayed impressive stability in aggressive solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Overall, PBI membranes cross-linked by both agents exhibited reasonable rejections which varied slightly from solvent to solvent due to different solute–solvent–membrane interactions. This study not only offers a new range of membrane materials and fabrication approaches for OSN, but will also enhance membrane-based green technology for the recovery of organic solvents.

Extracts from the leaves of Chromolaena odorata have been shown to be beneficial for treatment of wounds. The crude ethanol extract of the plant had been demonstrated to be a powerful antioxidant to protect fibroblasts and keratinocytes in vitro. In this study, the most active compounds were fractionated and identified from the crude extract using liquid chromatography coupled with UV spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The antioxidant effects of purified fractions on cultured fibroblasts and keratinocytes were investigated using colorimetric and lactate hydrogenase release assay. The results showed that the phenolic acids present (protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric, ferulic and vanillic acids) and complex mixtures of lipophilic flavonoid aglycones (flavanones, flavonols, flavones and chalcones) were major and powerful antioxidants to protect cultured skin cells against oxidative damage. In conclusion, the extract from C odorata contains a mixture of powerful antioxidant compounds that may be one of potential mechanism contributing to enhanced wound healing.