Sur and co-workers (2003) investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of human placental extracts by inducing inflammation in the hind paws of Wistar rats. Results showed significant anti-inflammatory activities and edema inflammation was reduced following administration of human placental extracts.

Chronic fatigue is a subjective feeling of emptiness and lack of power which effects daily life or after work for a period of more than six months. Symptoms include memory and concentration difficulties, malaise, sore throat, muscle aches, joint pain, sleep disturbances and headache. This study examines the effectiveness of human placental extract for the treatment of chronic fatigue in 78 subjects randomly assigned to either control or experimental group. Subjects are either treated with human placental extracts or normal saline for six weeks. Results showed experimental group with subcutaneous injection of human placental extracts was effective for the improvement of chronic fatigue syndrome.

In many countries, the usage of human placental extracts for burn injuries, chronic wounds and post-surgical dressings has already been applied as traditional medicine. Placenta extracts were shown to be effective in healing normal and infected wounds. Previous research by Hong et al. (2010) investigated the efficacy of human placenta extracts in wound healing using mice models. An 8-mm diameter of single full-thickness skin defect was made on the back on the mice skin and human placenta extracts were injected into the boundaries of the wound. The experimental group showed significant decrease in wound size when compared to the placebo group. Growth factors TGF-β and VEGF, functioning in the proliferation of epithelial cells, tissue remodelling and regulation of angiogenesis were shown to increase significantly in mice treated with human placental extracts.

Placental extracts contain a vast amount of nutrients including amino acids, proteins, hormones glycosaminoglycans, nucleic acids and polydeoxyribonucleotides (PDRNS). Chakraborty and Bhattacharyya (2005) studied the role of placenta extracts on the growth of different bacteria. These placental extracts could inhibit the growth of clinical isolated bacteria such as E. coli, S. aureus and fungi such as S. cerevisae, K. fragilis and C. albicans.

Kong and Park (2012) investigated the effects of placental extracts on health status in elderly people. Participants of more than 65 years old were randomly categorized into placebo group and treatment group. Participants either received subcutaneous placental extracts or normal saline for a period of eight weeks. The scores of physical function, sexual life and general health perception showed significant improvement from the baseline health status in the treatment group as compared to the placebo group. This study demonstrated that placental extract regimen could improve the health status in elderly people.

Kwon et al. (2015) investigated in vitro hair growth promotion on human placental extracts on C57BL6/J mice. Results showed that human placental extracts could significantly augment minoxidil (MXD) – a promoter of hair growth. The hair follicles were increased in number and size, concluding that human placental extracts may be applied as a potential therapeutic treatment for baldness in humans.

This study investigated the effectiveness of acupuncture point injection using placenta extract in patients suffering from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). CRPS is an inflammation-associated disorder characterized by spontaneous pain, swelling, changing of the skin colour and restricted movement. Two case studies from patients with CRPS showed remarkable amelioration after receiving injections of placental extract into acupuncture points BL23, BL24, BL25 and LR4. Both patients showed complete pain relief, swelling reduction, redness disappearance and articular movement restoration.

Growth factors extracted from human placentas were used for the treatment of chronic varicose ulcers in eighteen patients. All patients were randomly allocated to receive dressings containing or not containing the growth factors for a period of 48 hours. Results showed patients treated with placental growth factors enhanced the formation of epithelial and granulation tissue and accelerated the wound healing process.