Wound healing effect of Flabellaria paniculata leaf extracts

The leaves of Flabellaria paniculata Cav. (Malphigiaceae) exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antinociceptive activities invivo

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The leaves of Flabellaria paniculata Cav. (Malpighiaceae) are used in the treatment of conditions associated with inflammation and pain.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The study aimed at evaluating the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of ethanol extract from the leaves of F. paniculata.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The extract was obtained by maceration with ethanol (95 %) and characterized by GC-MS. The anti-inflammatory effect was assessed in carrageenan, serotonin, histamine-induced paw oedema and xylene-induced ear oedema models at the dose of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg. Antioxidant parameters and cytokine production (IL-6, and TNF-α) levels were determined in carrageenan air pouch model. The antinociceptive property was also evaluated.

RESULTS

The extract at 200 mg/kg showed significant anti-inflammatory activity at 2 h (39.66 %, inhibition) which lasted for 5 h (70.37 %, inhibition) in carrageenan paw oedema. In the air pouch model, the extract decreased neutrophils and monocytes counts in the exudate but not lymphocytes count. At the dose of 200 mg/kg, the release of TNF-α and IL-6 was inhibited by 56.6 % and 35.9 %, respectively. The extract boosted catalase and SOD activities in addition to GSH level. Xylene-induced ear oedema was inhibited by 52.25, 62.62 and 64.97 %, at the dose of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg, respectively. Antinociceptive activity of the extract (100 and 200 mg/kg) was significant in acetic acid-induced writhing test (53.33 and 54.57 %, inhibition) and the late phase of formalin test (88.04 % and 92.13 %, inhibition). No significant effect was found on motor performance in the open field. The GC-MS profile revealed the presence of 15 compounds, with cyclododecyne, hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester, n-Hexadecanoic acid, (E)-9-Octadecenoic acid ethyl ester, 1,4,2,5 Cyclo-hexanetetrol and phytol, acetate as the main compounds.

CONCLUSION

F. paniculata demonstrated anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effect and the anti-inflammatory mechanism could be through inhibition of the inflammatory markers and oxidative parameters.

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used to treat skin diseases in northern Pakistan

Background

Skin diseases are a major health concern especially in association with human immune deficiency syndrome and acquired an immune deficiency. The aim of this study was to document the ethnomedicinal information of plants used to treat skin diseases in Northern Pakistan. This is the first quantitative ethnobotanical study of therapeutic herbs utilized by the indigenous people of Northern Pakistan for skin diseases.

Methods

Interviews were taken to obtain information from 180 participants. Quantitative methods including fidelity level (FL), Frequency of citation (FC), Use-value (UV), Jaccard indices (JI), Family importance value (FIV), Relative frequency of citation (RFC) and Chi-square test were applied. Medicinal plants uses are also compared with 50 national and international publications.

Results

In this study, we recorded 106 plant species belonged to 56 floral families for treatment of skin ailments. The dominant life form reported was herb while the preferred method of utilization was powder, along with leaf as the most used plant part. RFC ranges from 0.07 to 0.25% whereas the highest FIV was recorded for family Pteridaceae. FL values range from 36.8 to 100%. The study reported 88% of new plant reports for the treatment of skin diseases.

Conclusion

The present study revealed the importance of several plants used to treat skin diseases by the local communities of Northern Pakistan. The available literature supported the evidence of plant dermatological properties. Plants having high UV and RFC can be considered for further scientific analysis. There is dire need to create awareness among local, government and scientific communities for the preservation of medicinal species and ethnomedicinal knowledge in Northern Pakistan.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-019-2605-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Gastroprotective Effect and Chemical Constituents of Flabellaria paniculata (Malpighiaceae)

Leaves from Flabellaria paniculata Cav (Malpighiaceae) are used in traditional medicine for wound dressing, and to treat ulcers and inflammation in Nigeria. The present study evaluates the gastroprotective activity of the ethyl acetate fraction of the methanolic leaf extract and reports on the chemical constituents from the fraction. The methanolic crude extract and solvent fractions (100 mg/kg, PO) were screened using an ethanol-induced ulcer model. The activity of the most active EtOAc fraction (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, PO) was further evaluated in indomethacin and pylorus ligation-induced ulcer models. The EtOAc fraction was chromatographed and chemical structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The MeOH extract of F. paniculata and EtOAc fraction from this extract displayed significant gastroprotective effects. Two triterpenoids (friedelin and friedelinol), two steroids (sitosterol and sitosterol-β-d-glucoside), and a flavonoid glycoside (kaempferol-3- O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-d-glucopyranoside) were identified from the EtOAc fraction. This is the first report on the isolation of these compounds from the plant. The identified compounds could be responsible in part for the observed gastroprotective effect of the EtOAc fraction.

The Wound Healing Effect of Callicarpa nudiflora in Scalded Rats

Callicarpa nudiflora has been widely used in Li nationality medicine and treated burns and scalds in China. Our objective was to preliminarily elucidate healing effect and action mechanism of Callicarpa nudiflora water extract (CNE) on the scald wounds using an experimental rat mode. The second-degree scald wounds were induced by hot water on dorsal surface of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, and then they were randomly divided into 5 groups as follows: control (CON), Vaseline, Silver sulfadiazine (SSD), and Vaseline supplemented with 10% and 20% CNE groups. These ointments were employed locally once daily for 21 days. The macroscopic analysis showed CNE significantly accelerated the wound healing process and lowered the wound areas on days 15, 18, and 21 especially in 20% CNE group compared to CON group. Histopathological evaluation showed the mildly hypertrophic epidermis and the intact dermis in the 20% CNE-treated group were obviously distinguished from CON group on day 21. The CNE-treated groups had no obvious effect for TNF-α and IL-10 expressions on the second day and 14th day, while TGF-β1 expression level was decreased on the 21th day and VEGF level was increased on the 7th day in the 20% CNE group. Furthermore, the expression level of Samd3 was strongly inhibited in 20% CNE group. These findings suggested that the CNE can enhance the wound healing and skin repair in deep second-degree scald rats and thus support its traditional use.

Effect of Topical Administration of Fractions and Isolated Molecules from Plant Extracts on Skin Wound Healing: A Systematic Review of Murine Experimental Models

Background and Purpose. Skin wound healing is a dynamic process driven by molecular events responsible for the morphofunctional repair of the injured tissue. In a systematic review, we analyzed the relevance of plant fractions and isolates on skin wound healing. By revising preclinical investigations with murine models, we investigated if the current evidence could support clinical trials. Methods. Studies were selected in the MEDLINE/PubMed and Scopus databases according to the PRISMA statement. All 32 identified studies were submitted to data extraction and the methodological bias was investigated according to ARRIVE strategy. Results. The studies demonstrated that plant fractions and isolates are able to modulate the inflammatory process during skin wound healing, being also effective in attenuating the oxidative tissue damage in the scar tissue and stimulating cell proliferation, neoangiogenesis, collagen synthesis, granulation tissue expansion, reepithelialization, and the wound closure rate. However, we identified serious methodological flaws in all studies, such as the high level of reporting bias and absence of standardized experimental designs, analytical methods, and outcome measures. Conclusion. Considering these limitations, the current evidence generated from flawed methodological animal studies makes it difficult to determine the relevance of herbal medicines to treat skin wounds and derails conducting clinical studies.

Dose and time-dependent sub-chronic toxicity study of hydroethanolic leaf extract of Flabellaria paniculata Cav. (Malpighiaceae) in rodents

Flabellaria paniculata Cav. (Malpighiaceae) is a climbing shrub, the preparations of which are used in the treatment of wounds and ulcers in Nigeria and Ghana. This study investigated the sub-chronic toxicity profile of the hydroethanolic leaf extract of F. paniculata (HLE-FP). HLE-FP was administered p.o. (20, 100, and 500 mg/kg) for 30 and 60 days to different groups of rats. Control animals received 10 ml/kg distilled water. In the group of animals for reversibility study, HLE-FP administration ceased on the 60th day and animals were monitored for a further 15 days. Results showed that oral treatment with HLE-FP for 30 days caused significant (p < 0.05) reductions in weight gain pattern compared to control. These changes were sustained with 60 days treatment. However, no significant (p > 0.05) differences in relative organ weights between control and treatment groups were observed. HLE-FP-treated rats showed significant (p < 0.05) increases in Hb, PCV and RBC on day 30 and significant (p < 0.05) increases in MCV and MCH indices on day 60 compared to control. There were significant (p < 0.05) elevations in serum K⁺, urea and creatinine compared to control. The liver function tests showed slight but non-significant alterations in relevant parameters when compared to control. Biochemical findings were supported by histopathological observations of vital organs including the kidney and liver. Toxicities observed in respect of kidney function were irreversible at 15 days of stoppage of treatment. In the acute toxicity study, HLE-FP given p.o. caused no lethality at 5000 mg/kg but behavioral manifestations like restlessness, generalized body tremor, feed, and water refusal were observed. The i.p. LD₅₀ was estimated to be 2951.2 mg/kg. Findings in this study showed that HLE-FP is relatively non-toxic on acute exposure and generally safe on sub-chronic administration, but could be deleterious on the kidneys on prolonged oral exposure at a high dose. Thus, caution should be exercised with its long-term usage.

Effect of Flabellaria paniculata Cav. extracts on gastric ulcer in rats

Background

The leaves and root of Flabellaria paniculata (Malpighiaceae) are frequently used in the treatment of wounds and ulcers in Nigerian folk medicine. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of ethanolic extracts from the leaves (FPL) and root (FPR) of F. paniculata on gastric ulcers in rats.

Methods

The effect of FPL and FPR (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) was evaluated in ethanol and indomethacin gastric ulcer models. Control groups for FPL and FPR were orally treated with 3% Tween 20 and distilled water respectively. FPL was further investigated in pylorus ligation model. Misoprostol and cimetidine were used as reference.

Results

FPL significantly (P < 0.05) reduced gastric lesions by 82.22% and 67.32% in ethanol and indomethacin induced ulcer models at 100 mg/kg respectively while FPR (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) did not exert significant effect in the two models. In pylorus ligation model, FPL exerted a significant preventive antiulcer effect as indicated by reduction in gastric volume at 200 and 400 mg/kg doses. Only 400 mg/kg of the extract exerted a significant reduction in ulcer index when compared with the control group. The oral route LD₅₀ of FPL was estimated to be 4570 mg/kg while that of FPR was 2754 mg/kg. The LD₅₀ in intraperitoneal injection was estimated to be 1202.26 and 1380.38 mg/kg for FPL and FPR respectively. The phytochemical investigation showed that both extracts possess triterpenoids and saponin, while the presence of flavonoid was detected only in FPL.

Conclusions

The results of this study indicated that FPL and not FPR is effective against experimentally induced gastric ulcers. The presence of varied phytochemical constituents probably influenced the pharmacological differences between the two extracts.

In vitro and in vivo anti-Staphylococcus aureus activities of a new disinfection system utilizing photolysis of hydrogen peroxide

The present study aimed to evaluate in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity of hydroxyl radical generation system by photolysis of H(2)O(2), which is a new disinfection system for the treatment of oral infection diseases such as periodontitis developed in our laboratory. Firstly, generation of the hydroxyl radical by the photolysis of H(2)O(2) in which 1 mol l(-1) H(2)O(2) was irradiated with a dual wavelength-light emitting diode (LED) at wavelengths of 400 and 465 nm was confirmed by applying an electron spin resonance-spin trapping technique. Secondly, the bactericidal effect of the system was examined under a similar condition in which Staphylococcus aureus suspended in 1 mol l(-1) H(2)O(2) was irradiated with LED light, resulting in substantial reduction of the colony forming unit (CFU) of the bacteria within a short time as 2 min. Finally, in vivo antibacterial effect of the photolysis of H(2)O(2) on a rat model of S. aureus infection was evaluated by a culture study. Since a significant reduction of recovered CFU of S. aureus was obtained, it is expected that in vitro antibacterial effect attributable to hydroxyl radicals generated by photolysis of H(2)O(2) could be well reflected in in vivo superficial bacterial infection.