Abstract:
Wound healing effects of Ocimum gratissimum, Vernonia amygdaline and Zingiber officinalis extracts were investigated using incisional wound model in rats. Twenty five (25) male Wistar albino rats, weighing between 100–150 grams were used for the study. They were divided into five groups of five rats each. Group A received the extract of Zingiber officinalis whereas groups B and C received the extracts of Ocimum gratissimum and Vernonia amygdalina, respectively. Group D served as positive control and received hydrogen peroxide and group E served as negative control and received normal saline. Wound healing indices such as wound contraction, re-epithelialization and whooping (fluid exudation) were subjectively and grossly studied. Area of wound contraction was observed to be time dependent regardless of the extract in both groups. In all extracts, wound contraction improved with duration of exposure to extract, being least at day 2 and highest at day 18. Similar results were obtained for both the positive and negative control using hydrogen peroxide and normal saline. The extracts enhanced wound contraction with more percentage area of wound contraction occurring for the group of animals treated with V. amygdalina than for the other extracts. Ranging of extracts wound healing effect were noted to be thus V. amygdalina > O. gratissimum > Z. officinalis. Although, animals treated with V. amygdalina showed greater healing than other animals of the positive and negative control but it showed no significant difference (p<0.05) when analyzed statistically. Wound epithelialization occurred on the average of two weeks independent of the groups or the extract used. The data from the experiment showed that there was no significant difference (p<0.05) in the mean days of epithelialization for all the five groups. Animals treated with Vernonia amygdalina had lesser day of wound epithelialization in comparison to animals treated with other extracts but yet showed no significant difference (p<0.05) when analyzed statistically. Exudation was mostly observed in the untreated wounds. The observation in the course of the experiment shows that whooping occurred in early stage of the wound for some extracts. Animals treated with plant extracts of Z. officinalis, O. Gratissimum, V. amygdalina and even hydrogen peroxide showed significant difference (p<0.05) in exudation when compared to animals treated with normal saline. However, Vernonia amygdaline proved more efficacious than any other extract for the treatment of all the phases of wound healing because it has the highest percentage area of wound contraction in almost all the days post-wounding.
