Investigation of wound healing effect of Acalypha indica extract in Sprague Dawley rats

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the wound healing effect of the ethanol extract of Acalypha indica in different parts of the body. Two set of cutaneous wounds were created on an individual rat. A set of wound consisted of a 5mm wound on dorsum and a 5mm wound on hind limb. The wound on left side was treated while the right side acted as control. Three rats were euthanized every 3 days, which was on day 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 after wounding. The body weight of the rats were recorded and skin samples were obtained for histopathology. Parameters such as epithelialization, angiogenesis, number of PMNLs and macrophages, fibroblast and collagen deposition were used in evaluating the wound healing effect. A semi quantitative scoring system was used to grade the parameters. Results showed increasing of the body weight of the rats indicated that rats were not affected by the wound induction. Gross findings revealed that the percentage of wound contraction was higher in treated wound, indicating that the wound healing process was improved by the application of the extract. Histological findings showed that the period of epithelialization was shorter in the treated wound. The fibroblastic activity, collagen deposition and angiogenic activity were also much higher in the treated wound. In conclusion, A. indica extract has good wound healing effect and plausibly can be further commercialised for wound healing treatment.