In Vivo Wound Healing and Anti‐Inflammatory Activities of Leaf Latex of Aloe megalacantha Baker (Xanthorrhoeaceae)

Abstract

Background Aloe megalacantha Baker (Xanthorrhoeaceae) is one of the Aloe species widely distributed in Ethiopia. The leaf latex of the plant is used for treatment of wounds, inflammation, and other multiple ailments in Ethiopian traditional medicine. Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate in vivo wound healing and anti-inflammatory activities of the leaf latex of Aloe megalacantha in mice. Methods The wound healing activity of the leaf latex of the plant was studied topically by incorporating the latex in simple ointment base in a concentration of 5% (w/w) and 10% (w/w) using excision and incision models. In these models, wound contraction, period of epithelialization, and breaking strength of the wounded skin were determined. Carrageenan induced inflammation of paw model was also used to assess the anti-inflammatory activity of the leaf latex at doses of 200 mg/kg, 400mg/kg, and 600 mg/kg. The level of inflammation suppressions were measured at 1, 2, 3, and 4 hrs after carrageenan injection, and then the percentages of inflammation inhibition were computed as compared with the negative control. Result In both wound models, mice treated with 5% (w/w) and 10% (w/w) latex ointment showed a significant (p<0.05) increment in the rate of wound contraction, reduction in epithelialization time, and higher skin breaking strength. Besides, the latex also exhibited a dose-dependent significant (p<0.05) reductions of inflammation as compared to negative control groups. Conclusion The overall results of this study demonstrate that the leaf latex of A. megalacantha possesses wound healing and anti-inflammatory activities which can scientifically substantiate the traditional use of the plant as a wound healing agent.

Effective use of mesenchymal stem cells in human skin substitutes generated by tissue engineering

“…Previous studies have described contraction in mice as a common physiological phenomenon after skin grafting. Park et al (2014) compared the use of splinted versus non-splinted models and demonstrated that the wound generated in the skin of the animal tends to fully shrink and contract after 11 d in non-splinted models, whereas splinted models reduce the contraction rate to near 60 % after 11 d (Gebremeskel et al, 2018;Park et al, 2014). In the present study, the wound contraction percentage reached 61.7 % after 30 d, suggesting a reduction of the wound contraction that may improve re-epithelisation with the grafted tissue.…”

Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of the Leaf Exudate of Aloe megalacantha Baker

“…Besides, the people of Sidama utilized the leaf of Aloe megalacantha for the management of tuberculosis [ 18 ]. In vivo and in vitro studies of the leaf exudate of Aloe megalacantha also revealed significant antimalarial [ 19 ], wound healing, anti-inflammatory [ 20 ], antidiabetic, and antihyperlipidemic activities [ 21 , 22 ]. Numerous compounds isolated from the roots of this plant also displayed cytotoxic effects [ 23 ].…”

Antimicrobial Evaluation of Latex and TLC Fractions from the Leaves of Aloe adigratana Reynolds

“…In Ethiopia there are around 46 species of Aloe, of which about 66% are endemic in the country [8]. Several of these endemic species possessed different biological activities, including antimicrobial [9,10], antitrypanosomiasis [11], antileishmaniasis [12,13], antimalarial [14][15][16], wound healing [17], anti-inflammatory [17,18], anticancer [19], antidiabetic [20], and antioxidant activities [21]. is relevance indicates that Aloe is the store house of numerous bioactive compounds [22].…”