Evaluation of Prosopis cineraria (l) druce leaves for wound healing activity in rats

Objective: In the absence of systematic evaluation of wound healing properties of Prosopis cineraria leaves in the literature, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the phytochemical analysis and wound healing potential of Prosopis cineraria leaves on excision wounds induced in experimental rats. Methods: Ethanolic extract from Prosopis cineraria were screened for antioxidant activity using DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Excision wounds were created in male albino wistar rats and were treated with Prosopis cineraria ethanolic extract (sulphathiazole ointment was used as a reference drug - widely used for wound healing) for a period of 13 days. Results: Topical application of Prosopis cineraria ethanolic extract for 13 days exhibited 92.13±3.23% reduction in wound area when compared to controls which was 91.45±5.23 %.The results obtained were comparable with Sulphathiazole ointment 1 % w/w. Conclusion: It appears that the ethanolic extract of Prosopis cineraria possess significant pro-healing activity by accelerating the healing process at various phases of tissue repair. The presence of biologically active ingredients such as alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids and carbohydrates etc. in Prosopis cineraria may readily account for the observed prophylactic action of P. cineraria in wound healing.