Effects of Ankaferd Blood Stopper on bone healing: An experimental study

Bone defects in oral and maxillofacial region might appear as a result of many factors such as trauma, congenital or developmental malformations and infections. The reconstruction of bone defects still poses a significant problem in modern surgery. Many studies were performed to repair bone defects successfully by researchers until now.The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS) on bone healing histopathologically and immunohistochemically. In this study 24 New Zealand White male rabbits were used. Two bone defects (5mm in diameter) were created in rabbit tibias. In the left tibia, the proximal defect was filled with xenogenic bone graft (BioGen Mix) and ABS mixture, 0,1 cc ABS was applied to the distal defect. In the right tibia, the proximal defect was filled with xenogenic bone graft (Bio- Gen Mix) and sterile saline mixture, 0,1 cc sterile saline was applied to the distal defect. 24 rabbits were divided into four groups according to the sacrification days (7th, 15th, 30th and 45th days respectively). Histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations were performed on all samples.According to the histopathological examination results; there was no statistical difference in the amount of new bone formation between ABS and control groups. However, the inflammation scores were statistically lower in the ABS group than the control group on the 15th day. On the 7th and 30th days, the amount of endosteal new bone formation was higher in ABS groups. No foreign body reaction was seen in all samples. According to the immunohistochemical examination results; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Osteocalcin (OC) expression scores were statistically higher in the ABS group than the control group.Key Words: Ankaferd Blood Stopper, bone healing, xenogenic bone graft, vascular endothelial growth factor, osteocalcin