Maliha Shahbaz, Naauman Zaheer, Usman Zaheer, Asim Riaz, Asad Aizaz Chatha, Uzma Waseem.
Inflammatory changes in buccal wound healing of albino rats through cocoa powder extract.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;38(4):441-7.

Cocoa or cacao, derived from Theobroma cacao L., is considered as the “Super Fruit” due to its high polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity. It has numerous health benefits besides its common use in chocolate drinks and baking. The healing effects of cocoa powder extract were studied on albino rats comprising of 4 groups with 12 rats in each group. Group A was the control group and rats were given normal saline along with standard diet while rats in the experimental group B, C and D were given low, medium and high dosage of cocoa extract respectively dissolved in water by oral gavage daily along with standard rat chow diet. A 3mm surgical excisional wound was created on both left and right buccal mucosa of rats of all four groups with the help of punch-biopsy procedure. Rats were then sacrificed on 3rd, 7th and 14th day after the surgical procedure. Samples were obtained for histological analysis to compare the regenerated epithelial thickness, number of inflammatory cells and number of capillaries among the four groups. Histological changes indicated accelerated wound healing in cocoa groups as compared to the control group.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com