Maggots no wonder cure for festering wounds

Now who could have possibly seen this coming?

Though not strictly a fitness piece, but related (see below), I couldn't help but post this.

"Putting flesh-eating maggots into open wounds may not be such a great idea after all...

More recently, medical experts have been looking again at the creatures' healing powers, including their potential to prevent dangerous infections like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

To find out more, researchers at Britain's University of York recruited 267 patients with venous leg ulcers and treated them either with maggots or hydrogel, a standard wound-cleaning product.

They found no significant difference in outcomes or cost.

'It doesn't seem to be worth pursuing in this particular group of patients, if what you are aiming for is quicker healing,' researcher Nicky Cullum said in a telephone interview."

As if there is any "particular group of patients" in which it does "seem to be worth pursuing."

Like maybe those patients docs don't like.

Or maybe for an April Fools joke. (But you cannot make this stuff up.)

Or...

"Maggots may yet have advantages in some specialized areas..."

Like nutrition.

"Early habitants of Mexico adopted the consumption on insects, maggots and larvae, due to their flavor, or their empiric knowledge transmitted generation to generation of their nutritional value, nowadays their consumption is considered delicatessen. Red maggots are produced in the states of Tlaxcala, Hidalgo and Oaxaca, during the months of July and September, white maggots are produced in the states of Tlaxcala, Hidalgo and Mexico and are collected during May and July. Data reported in the bibliography mention that they are a rich source in protein...The proximate composition between maggots, moisture content was 61.1% in red and 53% in white maggots; fat content was 15.3% in red and 20.8% in white maggots; ash content was 1.4% in red maggots and 0.9% in white maggots; protein content by Kjeldahl was 19.2% in red and 20.9% in white maggots. Protein content by Bradford showed 18% in red and 21% in white maggots, while the quitin content was 0.6% in red and 0.9% in white maggots. The fatty acid profile shows that oleic acid is the dominant fatty acid followed by palmitic and palmitoleic acids. Differences in the composition of the maggots may be due to the different soils where the Maguey grows. The proximate composition obtained show that the maggots are a rich source of protein and of fat, with a high content of insaturated fatty acids."

Bon appetit.