Abstract
BackgroundCatharanthus roseus L (C. roseus) has been used to treat a wide assortment of diseases including diabetes. The objective of our study was to evaluate the antimicrobial and wound healing activity of the flower extract of Catharanthus in rats.MethodsWound healing activity was determined in rats, after administration (100 mg kg-1 day-1) of the ethanol extract of C. roseus flower, using excision, incision and dead space wounds models. The animals were divided into two groups of 6 each in all the models. In the excision model, group 1 animals were topically treated with carboxymethyl cellulose as placebo control and group 2 received topical application of the ethanol extract of C. roseus at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight/day. In an incision and dead space model group 1 animals were given normal saline and group 2 received the extract orally at a dose of 100 mg kg-1 day-1. Healing was assessed by the rate of wound contraction, period of epithelization, tensile strength (skin breaking strength), granulation tissue weight, and hydoxyproline content. Antimicrobial activity of the flower extract against four microorganisms was also assessedResultsThe extract of C. roseus significantly increased the wound breaking strength in the incision wound model compared with controls (P < 0.001). The extract-treated wounds were found to epithelialize faster, and the rate of wound contraction was significantly increased in comparison to control wounds (P < 0.001), Wet and dry granulation tissue weights, and hydroxyproline content in a dead space wound model increased significantly (p < 0.05). Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus demonstrated sensitivity to C. roseusConclusionIncreased wound contraction and tensile strength, augmented hydroxyproline content along with antimicrobial activity support the use of C. roseus in the topical management of wound healing.
Highlights
Catharanthus roseus L (C. roseus) has been used to treat a wide assortment of diseases including diabetes
The proliferative phase is characterized by angiogenesis, collagen deposition, epithelialisation and wound contraction
There is no previous report on wound healing activities of C. roseus in literature to the best of our knowledge and in this paper, we report for the first time, the efficacy of C. roseus flower extract in the treatment of wounds
Summary
Catharanthus roseus L (C. roseus) has been used to treat a wide assortment of diseases including diabetes. The objective of our study was to evaluate the antimicrobial and wound healing activity of the flower extract of Catharanthus in rats. The therapeutic efficacies of many indigenous plants, for various diseases have been described by traditional herbal medicine practitioners [1]. Natural products are a source of synthetic and traditional herbal medicine. They are still the primary health care system in some parts of the world [2]. Wound healing is the process of repair that follows injury to the skin and other soft tissues. An inflammatory response occurs and the cells below the dermis (the deepest skin layer) begin to increase collagen (connective tissue) production. The epithelial tissue (the outer skin layer) is regenerated. Epithelial cells crawl across the wound bed to cover it and the wound is contracted by myofibroblasts, which grip the wound edges and undergo contraction using a mechanism similar to that in smooth muscle cells
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