Regenerative Properties of a Manuka Honey Incorporated Membrane in a Porcine Model

The novel use of a Manuka honey incorporated dental membrane for tissue regeneration warrants investigation. In this study, we analyzed the use of the SweetBio Manuka honey incorporated membrane for epithelialization, bone maturation, or any adverse effects compared to Salvin Renovix (a clinically available product control) in a porcine model. Ridge preservation was performed with allograft plus experimental membrane with primary closure, experimental membrane without primary closure, control membrane, or neither. At 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, all dental defect sites were trimmed, embedded in methlymethacrylate (MMA), sectioned, stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and evaluated. Specifically, epithelialization, bone maturation, membrane remnants, healing, and inflammation were examined. Although the results demonstrated no significant differences between treatments groups, it was noticed that all sites were fully healed or nearly fully healed at 4 weeks and beyond. The results also showed variable amounts of new bone growth present with evidence of a normal progression in healing of the extraction sites. Furthermore, all SweetBio membrane sites were covered by epithelium at 4 weeks. While no ascertainable difference was seen at any time point, additional studies are needed to explore various regenerative parameters, including the slight increase in epithelialization seen at week 4 of the experimental membrane. Nonetheless, this study did conclude that there is no adverse effect to the regeneration of the defect site by using the Manuka honey incorporated membrane.