Evaluation of wound healing and antimicrobial activity of root and whole plant of Byttneria herbacea Roxb. (Samarakhadyam)

Abstract

Byttneria herbacea Roxb., family Sterculiaceae, a folklore herb commonly known as Samarakhai by the tribes of Odisha, is traditionally used in treating wounds, wound infections and related ailments. The present study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial and wound-healing activity of the root and whole plant of B. herbacea. The antimicrobial potential of B. herbacea root (BHR) and B. herbacea whole plant (BHW) was screened against four Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Streptococcus pyogenes (ATCC 12384), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 10031) and one fungal strain: Candida albicans (ATCC 10231) which are predominantly responsible for wound infection. The antimicrobial activity was assessed by the cylinder plate method. The wound-healing efficacy of BHR and BHW was evaluated in the excision wound model in albino rats. BHR and BHW showed a good zone of inhibition against respective pathogens at higher concentrations. Both BHR and BHW were found to possess significant wound-healing activity, evidenced by the increase in the rate of wound contraction and skin-breaking strength, decrease in the period of epithelialisation, and increased hydroxyproline content. This study revealed the wound-healing potential of B. herbacea in albino rats.