Wound healing activity of Celtis timorensis Span. (Cannabaceae) leaf extract in Wistar albino rats

Celtis timorensis Span. (Cannabaceae), commonly known as stink or stinking wood, has been traditionally used in the treatment of wounds and cuts by the Badagas living in Nilgiri hills of Tamil Nadu. However, effects of this plant on wound healing have not yet been clearly elucidated. Here, we evaluated wound healing activity of ethanolic extract of C. timorensis leaves on rats using excision, incision and dead space wound models. The topical application was made in the case of excision and incision wound model whereas oral treatment was done with dead space wound model. Soframycin skin ointment and Vitamin E were used as standard drugs. The following differences were noted in the group of experimental animals which were treated with an extract of C. timorensis (5 and 10% topically, 200 and 400 mg/kg orally) when compared with the control: a high rate of wound contraction (P <0.01), high skin breaking strength (P <0.01), a significant increase in the granulation tissue weight (P <0.01) and hydroxyproline content (P <0.01). On day 16, the extract-treated animals (10% ointment) showed 95.76% reduction in the wound area compared to the controls which was 74.08%. Histological studies of granulation tissue obtained from the extract treated groups showed increased well organized bands of collagen, more fibroblasts and blood vessels when compared with the controls which showed inflammatory cells and decreased collagen fibres and fibroblasts. Enhanced wound contraction, increased skin breaking strength, hydroxyproline and histological findings suggest the use of C. timorensis for the management of wound healing.