Evaluation of in vivo wound healing activity of 80% methanol crude extracts of the bulbs of Crinum abyssinicum in Mice
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Date
2019-04
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Addis Abeba University
Abstract
Crinum abyssinicum is a species of bulbous plant that belongs to the family Amaryllidaceae. It is
believed that the plant is native to Ethiopia, and known by the local name yejibb shinkurt (in
Amharic). This plant is traditionally used for treatment of wound. No scientific evidence which
substantiates its traditional claim is, however, available to date. The objective of this study is
therefore to evaluate the wound healing activity of bulbs extracts of C. abyssinicum in mice. Mice
were used for acute toxicity, wound healing and anti-inflammatory studies. For wound healing
study, the 80% methanol extract of C. abyssinicum bulbs were formulated for topical application
by incorporating it in simple ointment base B.P. in a concentration of 5% (w/w) and 10% (w/w).
The simple ointment and nitrofurazone (0.2%) skin ointment were used as negative and positive
controls, respectively. Toxicity of the formulated ointments was studied by skin irritation test on
Swiss albino mice. For anti-inflammatory study, carrageenan-induced hind paw edema model was
used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of the extract at concentrations of 100, 200 and 400
mg/kg. Mice treated with Indomethacin (10mg/kg) and 2% Tween 80 served as positive and
negative controls, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the extract at concentrations of 50,
100 and 200 mg/ml was studied using agar well diffusion assay. Level of wound contraction,
period of epithelialization, skin breaking strength, edema and zone of inhibition were determined.
The ointment formulation of the extract was found to be non-irritant at 5% and 10% concentrations.
Treatment of wound with ointment containing 5% (w/w) and 10% (w/w) of 80% methanol extract
of the bulbs exhibited significant increase in wound contraction rate, shorter epithelialization time
and higher skin breaking strength in the excision and incision wound model used as compared to
control. The plant extract also showed dose-dependent significant reductions (p < 0.05) of
inflammation compared to control. The wound healing potentials, anti-inflammatory and
antimicrobial effect of the 80% methanol extracts of C. abyssinicum bulb observed in this study is
consistent with the traditional claim of this plant for wound healing activity, and hence it is
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recommended to perform fractionation of crude extract in order to identify which fraction/s of the
plant extract is/are responsible for wound healing.
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Keywords
Crinum abyssinicum, wound healing, excision, incision, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial