In-vivo Wound Healing and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of the Solvent Fraction of Zehneria scabra L.F. Sond (Cucurbitaceae) Leaves

Nebeyi Fisseha,1 Workineh Woldeselassie Hammeso,2 Dejen Nureye,1 Tarekegn Tesfaye,1 Tesfaye Yimer3 1Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan-Aman, South West Region, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia; 3Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Science, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Nebeyi Fisseha, PO Box: 260, Mizan-Aman, Ethiopia, Tel +251913214835, Email [email protected]: Wounds continue to be a difficult clinical problem, with early and late consequences causing significant morbidity and death. As a result, proper wound management is critical. In addition to contemporary medicine, medicinal herbs serve an essential role in the treatment of wounds and bacterial infections. Z. scabra is a medicinal plant that has traditionally been used to treat wounds. However, there are no scientific reports on solvent fraction wound healing activities. As a result, the current study presents a scientific assessment of the wound healing ability of the solvent fractions of Z. scabra leaves.Methods: The leaves were crushed and macerated three times in 80% methanol. Chloroform, ethyl acetate, and aqueous fractions of simple ointment at 5% w/w and 10 percent w/w strengths were prepared using the fusion technique based on the British Pharmacopoeia. Excision and incision wound models were used to assess the solvent fractions’ wound healing activities. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of crude and solvent fractions was tested in mice utilizing a carrageenan-induced hindpaw edema model.Results: In rats, a test dose of 2000 mg/kg of the 10% w/w crude extract ointment was found to be safe. Groups treated with the 5% and 10% ethyl acetate fractions of the extract experienced significant (p< 0.05 and p< 0.01) wound reduction in the excision wound model. When compared to the negative control, the length of epithelization in groups treated with 10% ethyl acetate fraction and aqueous fractions of Z. scabra was statistically significant (p 0.001). By lowering the amount of carrageenan-induced paw edema, the leaf extract and the chloroform fraction of Z. scabra demonstrated a dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effect.Conclusion: The extract showed remarkable wound healing and anti-inflammatory activity and might be recommended for the treatment of many types of human wounds.Keywords: wound healing, anti-inflammatory excision, wound model, Zehneria scabr

Antidiabetic and Antihyperlipidemic Activities of the Leaf Latex Extract of Aloe megalacantha Baker (Aloaceae) in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Model

Background. Diabetes mellitus has become a major public health and economic problem across the globe. The inadequacies, as well as serious adverse effects associated with conventional medicines, led to a determined search for alternative natural therapeutic agents. The leaf latex extract of Aloe megalacantha has been used for the management of diabetes mellitus in Ethiopian folk medicine. This study aimed to evaluate the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effects of the leaf latex extract of A. megalacantha in streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic model. Methods. The experimental diabetes was induced in Swiss albino mice by the administration of a single dose of STZ (150 mg/kg), intraperitoneally. The leaf latex extract of A. megalacantha at three different doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) was administered for a period of 14 days. Fasting blood glucose levels (BGLs) were measured by glucose-oxidase and peroxidase reactive strips. After fourteen days, mice from all groups fasted and the blood was collected through puncturing the retroorbit of the eyes under mild anesthetic condition. The collected blood sample was used to determine serum biochemical parameters such as total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The statistical analysis of results was carried out using one-way analysis (ANOVA) followed by post hoc multiple comparison tests. Results. Oral administration of A. megalacantha leaf latex extract at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg daily for 14 days results in a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in fasting BGL as compared to negative control STZ-induced diabetic mice. The leaf latex has significantly reduced the level of TC, TG, and LDL, VLDL cholesterol while a significant (p < 0.05) HDL cholesterol increment was observed. Conclusions. The findings of the present investigation indicated that the leaf latex of A. megalacantha possessed significant antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic potential which may prove the claimed use of the plant in amelioration of diabetes and associated complications in Ethiopian folk medicine