Formulation, characterization and in-vivo evaluation of standardized Tabernaemontana divericata extract hydrogel for wound healing

Tabernaemontana divaricata (TD) from the Apocynaceae family exhibits traditional therapeutic properties such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and acetylcholinesterase activity, etc. To formulate and evaluate the wound healing potential of standardized ethanolic extract of TD leaves hydrogel on experimental models of wounds in Wistar rats with the design of experiment approach. The prepared PVA-based hydrogel of TD extract was evaluated. In-vivo, wound healing activities using excision, incision, and burn wound models were performed concerning percent wound contraction, epithelialization period, tensile strength, and histological analysis. On the 20th day of the excision model, percentage wound contraction for 0.5 mg/ml and 1 mg/ml extract hydrogel was found to be 90.35 % ± 0.46 and 97.28 % ± 0.59, respectively, while on the 9th day of incision model, the tensile strength of both doses of hydrogel was found to be 191.16 ± 1.51 g and 201.00 ± 1.29 g, respectively, indicating that both concentrations of the hydrogel showed significant (P < 0.05) wound healing as compared to disease control and vehicle control group. The histopathological study of hydrogel showed no necrotic cells and a greater amount of collagen. Furthermore, in the burn wound model, both doses of TD hydrogel had significant wound-healing activity, as demonstrated by a reduction in the time needed for epithelialization and an increase in the rate of wound contraction (P < 0.05). The proposed formulation showed potential for wound healing and may be studied further in clinical trials.