Plant latex: A rich source of haemostatic proteases

Abstract

Chronic wounds are key concern equally for the patient, and clinician since it seriously reduces the quality of life. Existing Global estimates indicate that almost six million people suffer from chronic injuries including India. Despite remarkable developments in the pharmaceutical drug industry, the availability of drugs capable of stimulating the process of wound repair is still limited. Besides the conventional systems of Indian Medicine, the folk and tribal medicine employ a number of plants for treatment of cuts, wounds and burns. Some of these plants have been screened scientifically for the evaluation of their wound healing activity both in vitro and in vivo in different pharmacological models. However, the potential of most of the plants remains unexplored. Haemostasis through blood coagulation and subsequent fibrinolysis is the initial event of wound healing, which is a multi-step process. Plant latex is a rich source of several hydrolytic enzymes which are responsible for their diverse health applications. Many latex proteases have been explored to validate their potential haemostatic/wound healing potentials. The present chapter will focus on recent advances in the field of plant latex biology, the presence of different proteases, their role in haemostasis and related molecular mechanisms.