Formulation Development and Evaluation of New Polyherbal Gel Formulations for Their Wound Healing Activity in Rat

Abstract

Synoptic studies on natural products have been conducted as a result of the lack of a potential remedy and associated flaw in allopathic medicines, as these items have been found to be less harmful and more affordable. The identification and assessment of therapeutic potential in pharmaceuticals led to the development of novel, affordable medications for the treatment of a variety of ailments, including chronic wounds. To determine if plant extracts can effectively cure wounds, in-vitro cell scratch testing is a practical and affordable method. Traditional herbal remedies for treating wounds include Azadirachta indica (A. indica) and Aloe barbadensis miller (Aloe vera, A. vera). The goal of the current study was to assess the ability of a polyherbal formulation (A. vera and A. indica) to promote wound healing in Wistar albino rats utilising excision, incision, and dead space wound models. A. vera and A. indica extracts were used in varied concentrations to create formulations PHF1 through PHF5. Utilising criteria like physical appearance, pH, extrudability, viscosity, spreadability, homogeneity, grittiness, and stability study, the generated polyherbal gel formulation was assessed. On days 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 21, as well as day 24, wound healing was observed along with the percentage of wound contraction, epithelialization period, hydroxyproline content, tensile strength, granuloma weight, and protein content (dead space wound models). In an excision wound model, polyherbal gel PHF4 demonstrated percent wound contraction in 12 days, and Groups II and IV saw considerably (P 0.01) shorter epithelialization times. In incision wound models, the animal group treated with polyherbal gel PHF4 demonstrated significantly higher levels of hydroxyproline than all other formulations as well as significantly higher tensile strength. PHF4 demonstrated the best efficacy in dead space wound models compared to other extracts and was significantly different from the treatment group in terms of granuloma weight and protein content. It can be said that poly herbal formulations have wound healing properties, possibly as a result of their epithelization, supporting the traditional assertion that they can be used to treat many human wound types.