Mixing gold with red wine may heal chronic wounds, scientists say

A new way to help wounds heal faster has been developed by scientists using gold and red wine.

It combines the anti-inflammatory effects of the precious metal with the high levels of antioxidants (disease-fighting molecules found in many plants, including grapes) in pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon red wine.

Researchers at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa developed a mixture of the two that, during laboratory tests, helped severe wounds heal almost completely in just 72 hours.

Around 3.8 million patients a year are treated for wounds on the NHS.

Wounds that don’t heal within three months are classed as chronic; they’re stuck at the ­inflammatory stage of the repair process, rather than progressing to the remodelling phase, where new tissue grows over the damaged area.

Researchers at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa developed a mixture of the two that, during laboratory tests, helped severe wounds heal almost completely in just 72 hours (file image) 

The researchers in South Africa looked at using gold to kick-start the healing process, as it is known to reduce inflammation and does not react with body ­tissue or cells (file image) 

It combines the anti-inflammatory effects of the precious metal with the high levels of antioxidants (disease-fighting molecules found in many plants, including grapes) in pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon red wine (file image) 

Around 3.8 million patients a year are treated for wounds on the NHS (file image) 

Chronic wounds are common in conditions such as diabetes as a result of poor blood circulation. This increases the risk of infections that can, in extreme cases, lead to limb amputation.

The researchers in South Africa looked at using gold to kick-start the healing process, as it is known to reduce inflammation and does not react with body ­tissue or cells. 

Injections of gold particles to ease joint ­inflammation was one of the main ­treatments for rheumatoid arthritis – where the immune ­system attacks healthy joints – for many decades in the UK, until the emergence of ­effective drugs.

Meanwhile, red grapes are rich in antioxidants such as ­resveratrol, which has previously been shown to accelerate healing by blocking the effects of free radicals (harmful compounds that can slow tissue repair by ­disrupting oxygen supply). 

The research team bought three ­bottles of red wine made with popular grape varieties and dried out samples in an oven. The extracts were then mixed with chloroauric acid, a chemical that contains atoms of gold.

Injections of gold particles to ease joint ­inflammation was one of the main ­treatments for rheumatoid arthritis – where the immune ­system attacks healthy joints – for many decades in the UK, until the emergence of ­effective drugs

Chronic wounds are common in conditions such as diabetes as a result of poor blood circulation (file image) 

The researchers then took a lab dish containing human skin cells and made a ‘scratch’ down the middle to mimic a wound, and added the gold mixture.

After 72 hours the ‘wound’ treated with the pinot noir and gold had closed by more than 80 per cent, compared with only 50 per cent in samples treated with just the wine, reported the journal Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology. 

Cells treated with cabernet sauvignon extract and gold did even better – with wounds closing by almost 100 per cent within 72 hours.

Stella Vig, a consultant vascular surgeon at Croydon University Hospital, said: ‘This use [of red wine] is novel, as is the combination of technologies to produce nanoparticles of gold.

‘Both silver and gold nanoparticles may have an important role in reducing infections in wounds.’

Dr Ahmed Osman, a senior research fellow at the School of Chemistry and Chemical ­Engineering at Queen’s University, Belfast, added: ‘These gold particles promote cell growth and enhance the natural healing process of the skin.’