Phytochemical screening and assessment of wound healing activity of the leaves of Anogeissus leiocarpus

Abstract

Wound healing disorders present a serious clinical problem of medical health care in Africa and in Ghana; most of these disorders lead to complications, high morbidity and mortality rates. However, most of the synthetic drugs currently used for the treatment of wounds are not only expensive but also pose problems such as allergy and drug resistance. Anogeissus leiocarpus (Combretaceae (combretoideae)) is a well known plant in Ghana and because of its use in Ghanaian folk medicine as a wound-healing agent; the present study was carried out to investigate its wound healing activities. The parameters studied included rate of % wound contraction, days of complete wound healing and the antimicrobial activity of the plant extract. The crude methanol extract was also screened for Total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant ability using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and the presence of phytoconstituents. From the FRAP assay, absorbance increased with increasing concentration of plant extract indicating a significant reduction potential of the plant. Similarly, high values were recorded for the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, the secondary metabolites synthesize in plants known to posses antioxidant activities. The result of the study relative to wound healing was very interesting. There was a progressive decrease in wound area with time, indicating an efficacy of the formulations in healing the induced wounds. By the 15th day, the mixture containing 100 mg / ml of aqueous extract and 10 % w / w of powdered ointment of A. leiocarpus showed 100 % healing similar to the standard antibiotic ( 2% w/w penicillin). The plant A. leiocarpus topically possesses wound healing activity in a dose dependent manner and thus provides a scientific rationale for the traditional use of this plant in the management of wounds. As such could be developed into an alternative drug in wound healing.