In-vivo Wound Healing Activity of Acalypha paniculata

The wound healing properties of the ethanol extract of dried aerial parts of Acalypha paniculata (APE) were investigated using excision and incision wound models in Wistar strain albino rats. In this experimental study, second-degree burn wounds were created in twenty prescreened rats, which were divided into four groups of five animals each. Group I served as the control and received normal saline, Group II was treated with povidone-iodine as the standard drug, and Groups III and IV were administered topically APE at doses of 250 and 500 µl/wound respectively. For the excision wound model, wound healing was assessed using parameters such as the percentage of wound contraction and epithelialization duration on days 2, 6, 10, and 14, along with histopathological evaluations. In both models, rats treated with APE demonstrated significantly enhanced wound healing activity (P <0.001) compared to the control group. This was evident from the accelerated wound contraction, shorter epithelialization period, increased skin tensile strength, and complete healing within 18 days for excision and seven days for incision method. Histopathological analysis further confirmed these findings, showing well-developed hair follicles, denser collagen fibers, reduced inflammatory cells, mature fibroblasts, and enlarged capillary-sized blood vessels, comparable to the outcomes observed in the standard treatment group. Our study demonstrates that the positive effects of APE on wound healing can be attributed to its ability to reduce wound size.