Enhanced Cutaneous Wound Healing In Vivo by Standardized Crude Extract of Poincianella pluviosa.

Wound healing is a complex process that involves several biological events, and a delay in this process may cause economic and social problems for the patient. The search continues for new alternative treatments to aid healing, including the use of herbal medicines. Members of the genus Caesalpinia are used in traditional medicine to treat wounds. The related species Poincianella pluviosa (DC.) L.P. Queiroz increases the cell viability of keratinocytes and fibroblasts and stimulates the proliferation of keratinocytes in vitro. The crude extract (CE) from bark of P. pluviosa was evaluated in the wound-healing process in vivo, to validate the traditional use and the in vitro activity. Standardized CE was incorporated into a gel and applied on cutaneous wounds (TCEG) and compared with the formulation without CE (Control) for 4, 7, 10, or 14 days of treatment. The effects of the CE on wound re-epithelialization; cell proliferation; permeation, using photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS); and proteins, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD-2) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) were evaluated. The TCEG stimulated the migration of keratinocytes at day 4 and proliferation on the following days, with a high concentration of cells in metaphase at 7 days. Type I collagen formed more rapidly in the TCEG. PAS showed that the CE had permeated through the skin. TCEG stimulated VEGF at day 4 and SOD-2 and COX-2 at day 7. The results suggest that the CE promoted the regulation of proteins and helped to accelerate the processes involved in healing, promoting early angiogenesis. This led to an increase in the re-epithelialized surface, with significant mitotic activity. Maturation of collagen fibers was also enhanced, which may affect the resistance of the extracellular matrix. PAS indicated a correlation between the rate of diffusion and biological events during the healing process. The CE from P. pluviosa appears promising as an aid in healing

Morpho-anatomical study of rhizome of Limonium brasiliense

AbstractLimonium brasiliense (Boiss.) Kuntze, Plumbaginaceae, is an herb popularly known as guaicuru, guaicurá or baicuru. The species inhabits salt marshes from the coastal region of southern Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, to Uruguay and Argentina. Although widely used in folk medicine in the state of Rio Grande do Sul to treat genitourinary infections and to regulate menstrual periods, L. brasiliense has been little studied. The present morpho-anatomical study was undertaken to resolve some doubts in the literature as to the nature of the part of the plant that is used for medicinal purposes, a true rhizome or a root. The morpho-anatomical characteristics were analyzed with the aid of light and scanning electron microscopy. The botanical material was characterized as a rhizome with internodes that are evident in the younger but not the older portions. Microscopic analysis revealed the presence of a multilayered periderm with a cortex, ray parenchyma, and pith, formed by collenchyma tissue with abundant intercellular spaces in the outer portions of the cortex, responsible for the rigidity of the body, and with walls impregnated with phenolic compounds. The vascular bundles are collateral with elliptical to elongated cells, and with few conducting and sclerenchymal elements. Groups of sclereids are dispersed through the cortex and pith. These morpho-anatomical characteristics define the structure as a rhizome