Wound healing consists of several continuous phases involving various cells and chemical intermediates. As a rich source of nutrition elements, honey has proved to have potential benefits in the treatment of various diseases. The present study was designed to investigate the healing effect of a honey mixture with selected essential oils on chemical and thermal wound models in rabbits. Dressing mixtures of Thymus vulgaris honey with three essential oils (Origanum vulgare, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Thymus vulgaris) were prepared and applied daily in the treatment groups. These essential oils were rich in phytochemicals and had significant antibacterial activity against four selected ATCC bacterial strains. Madecasol ointment was used as a standard control. The healing effect of the mixtures was evaluated by measuring wound surface area and comparing healing time. The results showed that the healing rate in the treatment groups was significantly higher than that of the untreated group and standard group. The best healing effect for burns was seen in the mixture of honey and Thymus vulgaris essential oil, which had wound closure rates of 85.21% and 82.14% in thermal- and chemical-induced burns, respectively, and showed the shortest healing time (14 days) in comparison to other groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that honey mixtures have significant beneficial effects on skin wound healing and, thus, they may be used as a healing agent in different types of wounds in humans after specific clinical trials.

Mentha spicata, also called Mentha viridis, is a medicinal plant of the Lamiaceae family characterized by its potency to synthesize and secret secondary metabolites, essentially essential oils. Different populations use the aerial parts of this plant for tea preparation, and this tisane has shown several effects, according to ethnopharmacological surveys carried out in different areas around the world. These effects are attributed to different compounds of M. spicata, in which their biological effects were recently proved experimentally. Pharmacological properties of M. spicata extracts and essential oils were investigated for different health benefits such as antioxidant, anticancer, antiparasitic, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic effects. In vitro and in vivo studies showed positives effects that could be certainly related to different bioactive compounds identified in M. spicata. Indeed, volatile compounds seem to be efficient in inhibiting different microbial agents such as bacteria, fungi, and parasites through several mechanisms. Moreover, M. spicata exhibited, according to some studies, promising antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects, which show its potential to be used as a source for identifying natural drugs against cellular oxidative stress and its related diseases. Importantly, toxicological investigations of M. spicata show the safety of this species at different doses and several periods of use which justify its use in traditional medicines as tisane with tea. Here, we report, explore, and highlight the data published on M. spicata concerning its botanical description and geographical distribution, its phytochemical compounds, its pharmacological properties, and its toxicological investigations of M. spicata.

Moroccan folk healers use medicinal plants to treat several diseases including skin burns. The traditional knowledge of wound healing is not common among the general population. Only one ethnobotanical survey was carried out in Rabat, Morocco, to track the traditional use of medicinal plants in wound healing. Therefore, our report aimed to study the medicinal plants used in Taza region to treat wound healing. In total, 218 individuals participated in this survey. More than 40 medicinal plants belonging to 30 botanical families were cited as anti-burn remedies. The most commonly used medicinal plants were Agave sisalana L., Nerium oleander L., Tetraclinis articulata Benth., Lawsonia inermis L., Artemisia herba-alba Asso., and Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Most of the used medicinal plants belong to Asteraceae family. Comparing our results with the previous survey, we noted that twelve plants were reported for the first time as wound healing agents. The ethnomedicinal use showed that plants leaves are the most commonly used parts. Pulverization was the selected method of preparation. The direct application of powder to the burns was the most common way of treatment. Our study revealed, for the first time, the importance of medicinal plants to treat skin burns in Taza region. Our results could be considered as the stepping stone for creating a database of wound healing medicinal plants to promote scientific studies on these plants revealing their constituents and side effects.

Objectives: Moroccan Arbutus unedo is an essential medicinal plant; however, little is known about the biological properties of its leaves mentioned in Moroccan traditional medicine. Methods: Various standard experiments were performed to evaluate the phytochemical, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and acute and sub-chronic toxicity characteristics of A. unedo leaves. Results: Phytochemical screening led to the identification of several phytochemical classes, including tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and anthraquinones, with high concentrations of polyphenols (31.83 ± 0.29 mg GAEs/g extract) and flavonoids (16.66 ± 1.47 mg REs/g extract). Further, the mineral analysis revealed high levels of calcium and potassium. A. unedo extract demonstrated significant antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities by inhibiting α-amylase (1.350 ± 0.32 g/mL) and α-glucosidase (0.099 ± 1.21 g/mL) compared to the reference drug Acarbose. Also, the methanolic extract of the plant exhibited significantly higher antibacterial activity than the aqueous extract. Precisely, three of the four examined bacterial strains exhibited substantial susceptibility to the methanolic extract . Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values indicated that A. unedo harbor abundant bactericidal compounds. For toxicological studies, mice were administered with A. unedo aqueous extract at single doses of 2,000 and 5,000 mg/kg. They did not exhibit significant abnormal behavior, toxic symptoms, or death during the 14-day acute toxicity test and the 90-day sub-chronic toxicity test periods. The general behavior, body weight, and hematological and biochemical status of the rats were assessed, revealing no toxicological symptoms or clinically significant changes in biological markers observed in the mice models, except hypoglycemia, after 90 days of daily dose administration.

Moroccan flora is rich in plants used in traditional medicine, but the further scientific investigation is necessary. The aim of the research was to evaluate the nutritional content and antimicrobial activity of Moroccan Thymus vulgaris, as well as its possible acute and chronic toxicological effects on rodents. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) was used to determine the mineral content. The antimicrobial activity was determined using a well-diffusion test, a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and a minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC) assay. Acute and chronic toxicity studies were conducted in vivo on mice and rats, respectively. Following that, haematological, serum-biochemistry, and histological investigations were performed. Moroccan Thyme was shown to be a source of numerous minerals which are necessary for health promotion. All antimicrobial testing, disc diffusion, MIC, and MBC tests revealed that thyme had potent antibacterial activity against all microorganisms tested. Staphylococcus aureus was the most susceptible bacterium, followed by Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli. Additionally, thyme exhibited great antifungal efficacy against Candida albicans. The acute toxicity results indicated that the aqueous extract of T. vulgaris is almost non-toxic when taken orally. According to the chronic toxicity study, the extract is generally safe when taken orally over an extended period of time. The biochemical and haematological characteristics of the serum and blood were within acceptable limits, and histological examination revealed no abnormalities. In conclusion, the findings of this investigation, confirm the antimicrobial efficacy of the aqueous extract of Moroccan T. vulgaris and its safety for experimental animals.