Wound Healing Activity of Heliotropium indicum L. leaf extract

Abstract

The study of wound healing is common in biomedical field and several medicinal plants are used for the wound healing process. Wound healing is a multifactorial physiological process of repairing injured tissues that involve several cell types which result in the restoration of a physical barrier. Owing to the presence of several pyrolizidine alkaloids, namely, echinatine, hel- eurine, heliotriene, lasiocarpine, indicine, indicine N-oxide, retronicine, cynoglossine, and supinine, this plant has been selected for the study [1-2]. Nowadays, wound healing studies play a vital role in the mechanism of repairing the skin tissue that suggests advanced preventive measures. The Wistar Albino rats served as the preferred species for animal models in research due to their anatomical, physiological, and genetic resources. The animals are small in size, easy to maintain, short life cycle, and have a genetic resemblance of the human [3]. The paraffin wax decreases the bacterial activity and performs as a good base when it is mixed with plant extract and the mixture is applied to the wounded area. The preliminary phytochemical analysis of the plant was carried out. 

In the present study, ethanol extract of Heliotropium indicum L. leaves was evaluated for its wound healing activity using paraffin wax as a base in excision wound model in Wistar Albino rats. The study showed a significant effect of the plant extract as like standard drug with respect to percentage of wound closure of excision wound model. Overall, the results showed that ethanolic extract of Heliotropium indicum L. leaves is a promising traditional agent that possess significant wound healing activity. This study provides a much-needed scientific validation of this plant for medicinal preparation. However, to maintain the pace of development, it is necessary to update prescriptions, improve the technology of drugs, study stability in the storage process to extend shelf life [4] and it will improve the aspects of wound management and advanced techniques involved in the wound healing process.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the wound healing effect of Heliotropium indicum L. leaves using In vivo models and to examine the complete wound healing time.