The reappraisal of the Chaulmoogra oil

Ahn, Sung Yul; Park, Hyang Joon

Abstract

Before the development of dapsone the standard remedy for Hansen's disease was the chaulmoogra oil. The oil was first introduced to western physicians in the 1850's by Dr. Fredric J. Mouat, the British physician, in India. Around 1900, leprosaria in the Hawaiian Islands and at Carville, Louisiana, adopted the chaulmoogra oil as their main treatment. But the oil has been traditionally treated as a drug for Hansen's disease in India and China since 2000 years before. Although the mechanism of action is not known, the lipolysis hypothesis or chemotatic theory resulted from counter irritation was suggested. Since the development of sulfone in 1947, the oil has not been used anymore as antileprosy medication. However, recent reports about the effect of the oil on wound healing in Hansen's disease and diabetes provided us with the possibility of the reappraisal of the chaulmoogra oil. We performed this study to determine the effect of the chaulmoogra oil on wound healing in Hansen's disease patients still having neuropathic foot ulcers and ulcerations of paraffinoma as sequelae.