A common baking ingredient could help heal wounds—and it’s pretty sweet. Vanillin (which comes from vanilla pods) has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties that could be used in wound-healing treatments. A study recently published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics details this food-to-function framework. Food-to-function frameworks provide a foundation for exploring how various foods can be used beyond providing nutrition. In this study, the team at Flinders University in Australia looked into vanillin. The chemical component can be extracted from natural vanilla pods and it can also be synthetically produced from rice or clove oil. Vanillin is generally an additive used to give food a sweet flavor, but it is a functional molecule that links other elements together. The researchers linked its chemical properties to some potential biomedical applications. “Vanillin is among the most widely used flavour compounds in the global food system, valued for its sensory attributes, chemical stability and long history of safety—and that can be transferred to other areas, such as medical uses,” Krasimir Vasilev, a study co-author and biomedical engineer, said …