Abstract:
A method of obtaining a pathogen shield from nut husks where the composition is useful in promoting the wound healing. The method includes collecting nut husks, extracting fluid resident in the husks, and storing the collected fluid. The extraction process is conducted in an inert environment thereby preventing oxidation of the fluid. After collection, the expressed fluid can be transferred to storage prior to use, such as in metal-foil packets or glass ampoules.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 10/909,481, filed Aug. 2, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,860, the full disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to a natural antiseptic and prophylactic agent. The invention also relates to methods, products and composition useful for healing wounds. The invention further relates to a process of collecting, storing, and applying the composition, where the process maintains the composition within an inert environment thereby preventing degradation of the composition. 
     DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     Many methods and compositions exist for promoting the speed of wound healing. These include ensuring the wound is cleaned as soon as possible to remove bacterial or septic agents that might cause the wound to become infected. Other methods involve isolating the wounded area within an oxygen rich environment to enhance the healing process. Compositions for aiding in wound healing include a myriad of antiseptic compounds, antibacterial agents, and others such as polysaccharides. Examples of these and other methods and compositions can be found in the following references: U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,214, U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,483, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,922. 
     However, the methods taught in each of the aforementioned references suffer from the drawback that the operative composition attacks or reacts with pathogens in the region where the composition is applied. Thus, once the anti-pathogen effect of the composition expires, the wound can become invaded and thus infected from later arriving pathogens. It is known that pathogenic bacteria attach and invade skin cells via a specific local mechanism, as discussed by Potts (Jennifer R. Potts, et al., Nature 423, 177-181 (2003). “Pathogenic bacteria attach to human fibronectin through a tandem beta-zipper”) and Berendt (Berendt, A. R., et al., Microbiology 145, 3477-3486(1999) “Bacterial fibronectin-binding proteins and endothelial cell surface fibronectin mediate adherence of  Staphylococcus aureus  to resting human endothelial cells.”) Thus a risk of infection is present if the wound is left unprotected at a time when pathogens come into contact with the wound. 
     Therefore, a need exists for a composition, product and a method of making the composition, where the composition can be applied to a wound and protect the wound from pathogen infection. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The method herein described includes obtaining a pathogen shield by collecting nuts of the Juglandaceae Of this family only black walnut,  Carya nigra  and pecan  Carya illinoensis  produce shucks that when green contain the precursor to tannic acids—the active component which provides long term protection. The method further includes removing the green husks from the nuts. The husk removal step can be conducted in air if a soft brush in utilized in the shuck-brush machine. Extracting the pathogen shield fluid from these husks must be performed in an inert gas environment. That is an environment that is substantially oxygen free. The extraction of the fluid from the husk can be performed by pressing the husks under high pressure or a fluid extraction process using a solvent to extract resident fluids from the husks. The husks can come from nuts including pecans  Carya illinoensis , and black walnuts  Juglans nigra.    
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a step-by-step method of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  depicts a side view of extracted liquid stored within a bottle. 
         FIG. 3  portrays in side view a packet container. 
         FIG. 4  shows an overhead view of a gauze patch. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates application of the liquid extract onto a wound. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While it had been known that the husks of certain nuts, such as from black walnuts, pecans, and others in this family of nuts, contained compounds that possessed antiseptic like qualities. It was not known that the presence of oxygen could oxidize these compounds and eliminate their prophylactic qualities. It was also believed that the compounds having these qualities included juglone and possibly tannic acid. 
     One of the discoveries with this invention is that tannic acid is possibly a product produced by oxidation of compounds naturally occurring within nut husks of this family, where these naturally occurring compounds are actually precursors via oxidation to tannic acid. These precursors to tannic acid exist in addition to juglone. Thus subjecting the nut husk extract to the oxygen in ambient air results in oxidation. This alters the characteristics of the extract and negates some of the antiseptic qualities while completely nullifying the prophylactic qualities of the extract. However it has been discovered that if the naturally occurring fluid within a nut husk, or the husk of nut similar to a pecan such as a black walnut, was extracted in an inert environment substantially void of oxygen; this elixir from the husk or any similar fluids, can be preserved for use long after the fluid was extracted from the husk. 
     Juglandaceae is one family of nut species considered for use with the present method. Pecans, hickory nuts, walnuts and black walnuts, among others, belong to the Juglandaceae family. Pecans can also be referred to as Juglans pecan, Juglans illinoensis, Hicoria pecan,  Carya illinoinensis , and Carya pecan. Hickory can be known as Carya and walnut is sometimes referred to as Juglans. Black Hickory is known as  Carya texana Buck . Many husks of these aforementioned nuts will stain the skin. Green husks from Black Hickory were found not to stain the skin. 
     With reference to the drawing herein, one embodiment of a method of producing and using a pathogen shield is shown in  FIG. 1 . The embodiment of the method  10  of  FIG. 1  includes a step  12  of harvesting a quantity of nut husks for processing. The nuts can be harvested any time after the interior shell is formed. Or the nuts may be harvested as soon as dehiscence occurs. That is when the green husks or shucks have become free of the interior nutshell. Harvesting after the husks or shucks have begun to turn black is too late. Nuts considered in this process, include those from the Juglandaceae family, such as pecan, black walnut, and English walnut, and combinations of these, to name but a few. Orchard managers sometimes shake the trees in late July to reduce the number of pecans on the tree. This enables the remaining nuts to grow larger. Water extraction would be a way to utilize these early pecans. 
     As seen in step  14 , after the nuts have been collected they should be placed into a container (not shown) having inert space that has been purged of oxygen. Examples of an inert space include a glove bag inflated with pure argon gas to displace all air from the bag. The ambient air that would typically be within the inert space is replaced with an inert gas such as nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, or helium or combinations there of. The gas used can be heavier than air (i.e. argon or carbon dioxide) thus slowly adding the gas to the bottom of the container can displace the air within the container. When substantially all of the oxygen has been removed or displaced from the inert space. (step  16 ). Removing the husks can be done manually or by using a “shuck brush” as is currently used by commercial orchards. The husks should be green during this step to ensure sufficient active solute exists within the husks. It is immaterial if the husks are still on the nut. When the husks become dry and black nothing can be extracted. 
     After being removed from the rest of the raw nut, the husks are collected in a vessel and soaked in a solvent, such as water. If ethanol were used the product would be a ‘tincture’. During the soaking step, solute from the nut husk is extracted into the solvent thereby creating a pathogen shield elixir. It is within this elixir that the active solute or wound healing compound exists. It is important that during the extraction step the elixir be protected from oxygen. Sealing the vessel as well as subjecting the vessel to an inert gas blanket, can protect the elixir from the degrading effects of oxygen. When desired to cease solute extraction, the elixir can be separated from the husks and placed in interim storage or into containers for subsequent use. Also, many pecans were harvested in early August when large limbs broke, these yielded good quantities of the active solute. If another solvent is used, other than those listed above, it must be miscible with water because the active antiseptic is highly soluble in water and exists within the shuck as an aqueous solution. Other solvents include acetone and methyl-ethyl-ketone. 
     Typically, some fermentation will occur during the extraction step that produces an off-gas such as carbon dioxide, thus a positive pressure vent can be added to the container to prevent a pressure build up within the vessel. Monitoring and dealing with the fermentation not only can prevent overpressure of the vessel, it can also signal when an appropriate time to separate the husks from the resulting elixir and thus end the extraction process. 
     Optionally, the husks may be pressed at a pressure sufficient to extract the fluid naturally present within the nut husk. This can be done in lieu of extracting the solute with a solvent, in combination with the soaking step, or after soaking. After soaking the shucks are nearly devoid of the active solute. Preferably the pressure applied while pressing the husks is around 5000 pounds per square inch. Following the pressing function the fluid within the green husk is stored for later use or in an interim storage prior to the final packaging of the extracted fluid. Whether the fluid is stored in an interim container or in its final package, both the container and the package must be substantially free of oxygen. 
     Final packaging of the extracted fluid can involve storing the extracted fluid within bottles, sealed packets, or capsules. With respect to storing the extracted fluid  30  for long term storage and use, one manner provided herein involves placing it within a bottle  24 . The bottle can be sealed with a foil or foil like membrane (not shown) adhered to the opening of the bottle  24 . Additionally, a removable cap  26  can be provided along with the bottle  24  thereby providing a barrier seal on the bottle  24  that can further prevent exposure of the extracted fluid  30  to ambient air and other sources of oxygen. While the bottle  24  can be any size, one optional size is one that would accommodate approximately 2-4 ml of extracted liquid  30 . Optionally, 30 ml glass bottles with screw top with a tin-foil lined cap can be used, up to larger bottles having a capacity in excess of four liters. 
     With reference now to  FIG. 3 , an embodiment of a packet  32  of the present invention is illustrated. As shown the packet  32  is comprised of a pair of largely rectangular sides joined at their outer periphery, optionally the sides could be other shapes, such as circular or elliptical. An amount of the extracted fluid is stored within the packet  32  in an airtight environment. The packet  32  should be openable either by hand, but can also be opened with scissors or some other cutting instrument. The material of the packet  32  can be foil, plastic, a thermoplastic material, a polymeric material, or any other material that provides an atmospheric barrier (or any material that will not be permeable to oxygen), is sealable, and can be opened without undue effort. Optionally gauze  34  can be included within the packet  32 , where the gauze  34  is wetted with the extracted liquid  30  prior to being stored within the packet  32 . Preferably the gauze  34  is comprised of a sterile cotton or cotton like material, but can be made of any material capable of withholding a sufficient amount of extracted liquid  30  within its fibers for later application to a wound. Selection and use of an appropriate bottle  24 , cap  26 , packet  32 , and gauze  34  is well within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art. 
     In use, the extracted liquid  30  is applied to a wound  36  and to the skin area surrounding the wound  36 . While the wound  36  of  FIG. 5  is shown on a human digit  37 , a wound  36  located on any part of a body can be treated with the liquid of the present invention. As shown, the extracted liquid  30  has been applied to the tip  38  of a cotton swab  40  for application onto the wound  36 . However the wound  36  could be treated with the wetted gauze  34  of  FIG. 4 , where the gauze  34  had been wetted with the extracted fluid  30  from the bottle  24 , stored within the packet  32 , or wetted with the extracted fluid  30  straight from the press. 
     EXAMPLE 1 
     In one non-limiting example of the present method, nut husks were collected and then transferred to a 55-gallon drum and covered with a water solvent. The drum was sealed with a pressure relieving vent. The husk/solvent mixture was left at ambient conditions for a period of 4 days. During this time fermentation gases were produced and vented to atmosphere. Towards the end of the four-day period fermentation was vastly diminished. The resulting elixir produced by the extraction process was then drawn from the drum and stored. 
     EXAMPLE 2 
     In a non-limiting example of a method herein described, a 76 year old human subject sustained an injury involving damaged skin on his right shin about three inches above the ankle. The injury included superficial skin damage and slight bleeding. The extracted liquid of the present invention was immediately applied after the injury. A second application of the liquid was applied approximately an hour after the first application. Until the next day, the subject avoided wetting the injury. Sixteen days later the injury was completely healed within any additional intervention. Additionally, at no time did the wound become infected or exhibit an infectious appearance. It is believed that adsorption of the extracted liquid onto the skin protected against infection during the subject&#39;s healing process. The subject applied the extracted liquid on four separate occasions, to four separate wounds with the same result; namely none of the wounded areas became infected and hence all healed without complications and in a timely fashion. 
     Testing indicates that the expressed liquid is toxic to certain cells. The implication of this is that a long lasting protective action of the extracted liquid arises from a barrier created by adsorption of the extracted liquid on the critical cell surface membrane. Thus it has been concluded that application of the expressed liquid onto a wound provides a prophylactic effect onto the wound and protects the wound against pathogens being introduced onto the wound. Protecting a wound against such pathogens can in turn prevent infection of the wound and speed the healing of the wound. 
     The present invention described herein, therefore, is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as others inherent therein. While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been given for purposes of disclosure, numerous changes exist in the details of procedures for accomplishing the desired results. These and other similar modifications will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and are intended to be encompassed within the spirit of the present invention disclosed herein and the scope of the appended claims.