ABSTRACT
Aim: This study investigates the wound healing activity of ethanol leaf extract of Erythrina senegalensis using excision wound model on albino rats. Methodology: Several herbal extract formulations were prepared with Petroleum Jelly ointment base. Cicatrin® powder (neomycin-bacitracin) was used as the positive control. The various ointment formulations were applied topically on the wounds daily for 21 days. Daily wound contraction and epithelialisation times were recorded for each group. The antibacterial activity of the extract was also evaluated against some bacteria species implicated in wound infections. The following test organisms were used: Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. Results: The Phytochemical analysis revealed that alkaloids were abundant in the extract. The herbal ointment at various concentrations showed significant (P<.05) increase in percentage wound contraction on day 9 – 21 compared with the control group that received only the ointment base. The contraction produced by 40% w/w of the extract was similar to that of Cicatrin® powder on day 6 – 21. The results also revealed significant (P<.05) reduction in epithelialisation time exhibited by the extract treated animals compared to those of the control group. The result of antimicrobial studies showed that the extract inhibited the test organisms at concentrations ranging from 200 to 12.5 mg/mL. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) of the extract on the test isolates was recorded at 25mg/mL for both S. aureus and E. coli and 6.25mg/ml for K. pneumoniae. P. aeruginosa showed no susceptibility to both the extract and the control drug at the concentrations evaluated. Conclusion: The marked reduction of wound size and epithelialisation time by the extract is an indication of its wound healing potentials. Also, the antibacterial activity of this plant against bacterial species implicated in wound infections may contribute to the enhanced wound healing activity.