Wound healing activity of leaf extracts of Cordia rothii Roem & Schult.

Abstract

The plant Cordia rothii is a small herb or tree, grows particularly well along rocks and in the dry mountainous areas of Gujarat. The leaf paste is applied on an open wound and inflamed areas by the local people of this region. The present study was carried out to evaluate the traditional claim of the plant in treatment of wounds. The powder of dried leaves of Cordia rothii was subjected to continuous extraction with soxhlet extractor using various organic solvents. The preliminary phytochemical screening with the various qualitative chemical tests revealed the presence of carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, steroids, triterpenes, proteins, amino acids and mucilage were present in the leaf extracts of Cordia rothii. All the test extracts at different dose level and standard were administered topically once daily from day 0 to the day of complete healing or the 21^st postoperative day, whichever occurred earlier. A significant increase in the wound-healing activity was observed in the animals treated with the alcohol and water extracts of Cordia rothii leaves at a dose of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of body weight, when compared with the control treatments. Both the alcoholic and water extracts of Cordia rothii (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight) showed dose dependent increase in percent wound contraction. The alcoholic extract of Cordia rothii at a dose of 400 mg/kg of body weight (AESO 400) shown increase in percent wound contraction from 31.46 % to 91.80 % from day 4^th to 16^th, while epitheliazation period and scar area were 18.90 days and 19.55 mm² respectively. The warer extract of Cordia rothii at a dose of 400 mg/kg of body weight (WESO 400) shown increase in percent wound contraction from 33.61 % to 94.45 % from day 4^th to 16^th, while epitheliazation period and scar area were 17.59 days and 16.84 mm² respectively.