Thesis Abstract

<p> Wound healing is a natural process that enables tissue repair after an injury while inflammation<br>is a pathophysiological response of living tissue to injuries. To shorten the duration and<br>minimize associated complications of wounds, wounds are treated with medications. Currently<br>there is a growing interest in the use of traditional wound dressing agents such as plant extracts.<br>One plant used traditionally in wound treatment is Ceiba pentendra. In view of its use in wound<br>care, we investigated the wound healing activities of whole extract and fractions of Ceiba<br>pentendra extract using excision and incision wound models while the Anti-inflammatory<br>activities of the whole extract and fractions was investigated using paw edema and cotton pellets<br>model. Excision wounds were created, and treated with ointments prepared from Ceiba<br>pentendra, incision wounds were also created in rats with both treated topically with preparations<br>of extract and fractions with the wound healing activities of ointment assessed by rates of wound<br>contraction and epithelialization. Anti-inflammatory activities were assessed by treating with<br>extract and fractions orally. Ceiba pentendra ointments shows significantly (p &lt; 0.05)<br>accelerated wound healing with CPE-45% ointment having the highest percentage wound<br>contraction and rate of epithelialization, with wound healing effects being seen from day 4<br>(20.30%) with total healing occurring at day 20 (100%). In excision wound healing activities<br>involving the fractions. All fractions showed significantly (p&lt;0.05) accelerated wound healing,<br>with HXCP-30% being the most active with wound healing effects seen at day 4 (22.91%) and<br>total healing occurring at the 16th day (100%).Wound breaking strengths in incision wound<br>models involving the extract, significant (p&lt;0.05) was seen at CPE-45% with other doses<br>showing a non-significant effects. In incision wound model involving fractions the wound<br>breaking strength showed significant with HXCP-30% and BNCP-30%. Anti-inflammatory<br>effects using cotton-pellets showed that granuloma tissues formed in the extract treated groups<br>were significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher than those of the control group, the significant was seen with<br>CPE-200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg. Anti-inflammatory effects using cotton-pellets showed that<br>granuloma tissues formed in the fractions treated groups were significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher than<br>those of the control group, the significant was seen with CPE-200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg. The<br>extracts showed significant anti-inflammatory activities after 2 h with maximum percentage<br>inhibition of 60.00% seen at the sixth hour at 400 mg/kg dose level. Nevertheless inhibition was<br>still observed at six hours after administration at all dose level. In paw oedema model involving<br>various fractions, a significant inhibition (P&lt;0.05) was seen with butanol fraction at all dose<br>levels, with percentage inhibition of 13.68% occurring at 1 h for BNCP-200 mg/kg and<br>percentage inhibition of 31.25%, at the fifth h for BNCP-100 mg/kg. There was a dose dependent<br>inhibition for the hexane fractions; hence inhibition was seen at 200 mg/kg at the fourth hour<br>with percentage inhibition of 31.25%, while no effect was seen with HXCP-100 mg/kg. The<br>ethylacetate fraction also showed significant inhibition at all dose level starting at the third hour<br>for EACP-100 mg/kg with percentage inhibition of 21.05% and the fourth hour for EACP-200<br>mg/kg with percentage of 22.22%. Maximum percentage inhibition was seen of 46.15% was<br>seen at HXCP- 200 mg/kg, EACP-100 mg/kg and BNCP-200 mg/kg. The results obtained<br>showed that Ceiba pentendra has good wound healing and antibacterial activities. These findings<br>validate the use of this plant in traditional medicine for treatment of wounds.<br>1<br><br></p>

Thesis Overview

<p> INTRODUCTION<br>A wound refers to an injury to the skin or underlying tissues or organs (Agyare et al., 2013).<br>Dermal wounds are often caused by surgery, trauma, and chemicals or as a result of diseases<br>(Raina et al., 2008; Agyare et al., 2013). Intentionally created dermal wounds can be incisional,<br>whereby the wound is brought about by surgically cutting into the skin with a scalpel or excision<br>wound created when a part of the skin is cut off (Waldron and Trevor, 1993). The process of tissue<br>repair after an insult to the tissue (wound) is called ‘wound healing’ (Nguyen et al., 2009). Wound<br>healing is an intricate process in which usually the skin repairs itself. The process involves four<br>overlapping phases: haemostasis (ceasation of bleeding), inflammation, proliferation, and<br>remodeling (Nguyen et al., 2009; Pandith et al., 2013). Inflammation is a pathophysiological<br>response of living tissue to injuries that leads to the local accumulation of plasmic fluid and blood<br>cells. The complex events and mediators involved in the inflammatory reaction can induce,<br>maintain or aggravate many diseases (Shukla et al., 2010). However, studies have been continuing<br>on inflammatory diseases and the side effects of currently available anti-inflammatory drugs pose<br>a major problem during their clinical uses. Therefore development of newer and more substantial<br>anti-inflammatory drugs with lesser side effects is necessary (Shukla et al., 2010).<br>A major problem with wounds is the high risk of infection; hence, if an agent active against these<br>microorganisms causing the infection is used in the healing process, it will then help to reduce the<br>risk of infection and the overall time for wound healing can be reduced significantly<br>(Irvine, 1961). Bacteria colonize wounds within 48 h after injury and bacteria such<br>as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus spp may cause infection<br>2<br>and this may prolong inflammatory phase of wound healing (Irvine, 1961). <br></p>