Original Articles
Ezike AC, Akah PA, Udegbunam S
Abstract
The methanol extract of Bridelia ferruginea Benth (Euphorbiaceae) stem bark obtained by 48 h cold maceration (BFME), was fractionated in a silica gel column to yield the petroleum ether (PF), dichloromethane (DF) and methanol (MF) fractions successively. The effects of the extract and fractions on bleeding, wound contraction and rate of epithelialization of excision wounds, as well as carrageenan-induced leucocyte migration in vivo were evaluated in rats. They were also subjected to antimicrobial assay. The extract and fractions significantly (P<0.05) reduced bleeding time and also reduced the coagulation time of whole rat blood. They significantly (P<0.05) increased the rate of wound contraction and epithelialization of excision wounds; on day 17, extract treated rats showed 99.5 – 100% wound contraction. The extracts reduced leucocyte migration on acute oral administration, and also exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Eschericia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Klebsiella pneumonia with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 12.7, 6.3, 6.3, 12.3, 12.2 and 12.1 mg/ml respectively for BFME, and 25.0, 6.3, 25.3, 12.6, 12.6, 12.6 mg/ml respectively for MF. The results demonstrate that B. ferruginea stem bark exerts beneficial effects in wound management through hemostatic, wound contraction and antimicrobial activities.