IN VITRO STUDY ON THE HEMOSTATIC PROPERTY OF RICE STARCH

Abstract

Hemostasis is a physiological process that prevents excessive bleeding and facilitates wound healing. To date, various hemostatic agents have been developed to enhance coagulation. Among these, polysaccharides are particularly promising due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-immunogenicity, and no histologic reaction in vivo. Several polysaccharides, including chitosan, cellulose, dextran, alginate, and starch, have been extensively investigated for their hemostatic properties and widely applied in the development of hemostatic materials. Rice, a staple agricultural product in Thailand, has been previously developed into hemostatic materials in various forms. It was found that it can increase the efficiency of hemostatic, but the exact mechanism is still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the hemostatic efficacy of rice starch by assessing its effects on the whole blood clotting time, red blood cell (RBC) adherence, and the coagulation pathway. The results indicate that rice starch significantly reduces whole blood clotting time, with the clotting time decreasing as the concentration of the rice starch solution increases, and promotes RBC adherence to its surface. However, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) assays demonstrated that rice starch does not affect secondary hemostasis. In summary, rice starch enhances hemostasis primarily through a physical mechanism by promoting RBC adherence. These findings provide valuable insights into the hemostatic potential of rice starch, which could be further explored for the development of effective hemostatic materials in the future.