Preparations of Zingiber officinale are used in Nigerian folk medicine to manage colds, pain, arthritis, nausea, and epilepsy. The ameliorative effects of co-administering aqueous Zingiber officinale extract (GE) and sodium valproate (SDV) on pentylenetetrazole-kindled mice were evaluated regarding cognitive deficits, neuronal cell loss, and seizure severity. GFAP was also quantified. Male mice were pretreated with GE (50 mg/kg), SDV (100 and 200 mg/kg), and GE + SDV before kindling. After kindling, the mice underwent a learning performance test. The animals received a challenge dose of pentylenetetrazole one week after kindling. The brains were excised one day after the challenge test and were processed for GFAP immunohistochemistry and histopathology. GE alone did not affect PTZ-kindled seizures. However, treatment with GE and SDV significantly improved learning performance and protected against neuronal cell loss in pentylenetetrazole-kindled mice. The level of astrocyte activation was reduced in the kindled group pretreated with the extract. The results obtained suggested that co-administration of GE and a low dose of SDV significantly ameliorated learning deficits and protected against neuronal cell loss, astrogliosis, and neuroinflammation, suggesting that GE might be a beneficial co-medication in the management of epilepsy.
Ficus platyphylla (Fp) has been used in Nigerian traditional medicine for the management of pain, ulcer, wound, epilepsy and inflammation. The efficacy of its gum from the stem bark for the management of wound has been widely acclaimed among the Hausa communities of Northern Nigeria and therefore, this study was aimed at examining the antimicrobial and wound healing potential of methanol extract of F. platyphylla stem bark (MEFpSB) in order to provide scientific basis for its antimicrobial and wound healing properties. Preliminary phytochemical screening was done and antimicrobial activity using some pathogenic micro-organisms were evaluated following its wound healing effectiveness in Wistar rats using the model of superficial skin excision wound. Data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnet’s t-test. The results of preliminary phytochemical screeningrevealed the presence of carbohydrate, cardiac glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, triterpenes, tannins, alkaloids with anthraquinones absent. The extract showed antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium ulcerans, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Salmonella typhi and significant (p< 0.05, p< 0.001) decrease in wound measurement for 11 days. This study demonstrated that MEFpSB possesses antimicrobial activity with wound healing properties that justifies the ethno-medicinal use of the plant in wound/ulcer healings.
Keywords: Wound healing; Antimicrobial; Ficus platyphylla; Formulation; Topical
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