EVALUATION OF WOUND HEALING ACTIVITY OF 80% METHANOL CRUDE EXTRACT AND SOLVENT FRACTIONS OF TERMINALIA BROWNII FRESEN (COMBRETACEAE) STEM BARK IN MICE

Abstract

Background: Wounds have a significant impact on individuals' quality of life and impose a substantial clinical and financial burden on healthcare systems globally. Many existing wound treatment drugs are associated with issues such as allergies and drug resistance. Ethno-botanical surveys of medicinal plants have indicated the potential use of Terminalia brownii Fresen stem bark for wound management. Despite this, there are no published scientific studies assessing this plant's efficacy in treating wounds. The aim of this study was to assess the wound healing properties of the hydro-methanolic crude extract and solvent fractions derived from the stem bark of T. brownii in mice. Methods: The stem bark of T. brownii was collected, dried, grounded, and extracted using 80% methanol through three consecutive macerations. For the acute dermal toxicity test, 2000mg/kg of 10% (w/w) crude extract ointment was topically applied. Two different doses, 5% and 10% w/w, of the 80% methanol crude extract and solvent fractions (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous) were combined with a simple ointment formulation. The wound healing activity of the extract was evaluated using excision, incision, and burn wound models, while only the excision wound model was used for the fractions. The assessment of wound healing progress parameters such as wound contraction, period of epithelialization, and histopathological study for the excision and burn wound models, whereas tensile strength for the incision model were measured. Result: A dose of 2000 mg/kg of the 10% extract did not display any signs of dermal toxicity in mice. Both the 5% and 10% crude extracts demonstrated substantial wound healing activity compared to the simple ointment. This was shown by an increase in the percentage of wound contraction and a decrease in the period of epithelialization (p < 0.001). In the case of burn and excision wounds, the group treated with the 10% extract exhibited higher collagen density and fibroblast proliferation. Additionally, both the 5% and 10% extract ointments led to a significant increase in tensile strength (p < 0.001) compared to the simple ointment and untreated groups. In terms of the solvent fractions, the 10% (w/w) aqueous and ethyl acetate fractions demonstrated notable wound contraction (p < 0.001) compared to the n-hexane fractions and simple ointment. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that the 80% methanol extract and the Aqueous and Ethyl acetate fractions of the stem bark of Terminalia brownii, exhibited wound-healing properties, thereby substantiating traditional claims