Carica papaya L. (Linn) (Caricaceae) is traditionally used to treat various skin disorders, including wounds. It is widely used in developing countries as an effective and readily available treatment for various wounds, particularly burns. This study evaluated the wound‐healing and antimicrobial activity of C. papaya seed extract. Ethanol extract of C. papaya seed (50 mg/kg/day) was evaluated for its wound‐healing activity in Sprague‐Dawley rats using excision wound model. Animals were randomly divided into four groups of six each (group 1 served as control, group 2 treated with papaya seed extract, group 3 treated with a standard drug mupirocin and papaya seed extract (1:1 ratio) and group 4 treated with a mupirocin ointment. Rate of wound contraction and hydroxyproline content were determined to assess the wound‐healing activity of the seed extract. The group 2 animals showed a significant decrease in wound area of 89% over 13 days when compared with groups 1 (82%), 3 (86%) and 4 (84%) respectively. The hydroxyproline content was significantly higher with the granulation tissue obtained from group 2 animals which were treated with C. papaya seed extract. Histological analysis of granulation tissue of the group 2 animals showed the deposition of well‐organized collagen. The extract exhibited antimicrobial activity against Salmonella choleraesuis and Staphylococcus aureus. Our results suggest that C. papaya promotes significant wound healing in rats and further evaluation for this activity in humans is suggested.

The skin of the fruit and the bark of Punica granatum are used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery, and intestinal parasites. The fruit skin extract of P. granatum was tested for its wound healing activity in rats using an excision wound model. The animals were divided into three groups of six each. The experimental group of animals was topically treated with P. granatum at a dose of 100 mg/kg every day for 15 days, while the controls and standard group animals were treated with petroleum jelly and mupirocin ointment, respectively. Phytochemical analysis of the extract revealed the presence of saponins, triterpenes, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and cardiac glycosides. Extract-treated animals exhibited 95% reduction in the wound area when compared with controls (84%), which was statistically significant (P<.01). The extract-treated wounds were found to epithelize faster compared with controls. The hydroxyproline content of extract-treated animals was significantly higher than controls (P<.05). The fruit skin extract did not show any antimicrobial activity against the microrganisms tested. P. granatum promotes significant wound healing in rats and further evaluation of this activity in humans is suggested.

The objective of our study is to investigate the wound healing activity of the bark extract of Carapa guianensis in rats using three different wound models. The animals were randomly divided into two groups of six each in all the models. Test group animals were treated topically with the bark extract (200 mg/kg of body weight), and the controls were treated with petroleum jelly in the excision wound model. In the incision and dead space wound models the test group animals were treated with the extract of C. guianensis (200 mg/kg/day) orally by mixing in drinking water, and the control group animals were maintained with plain drinking water. Healing was assessed by the rate of wound contraction, period of epithelialization, skin breaking strength, granulation tissue weight, and hydoxyproline content. Antimicrobial activities of the extract against the microorganisms were also assessed. On day 15 extract-treated animals exhibited 99% reduction in the wound area compared to controls (93%). The extract-treated wounds were found to epithelialize faster than controls (P < .02). The skin breaking strength was significantly higher in extract-treated animals compared to controls (P < .001). The weight and hydroxyproline content of granulation tissue were significantly increased compared to controls. These observations support the use of C. guianensis is in the management of wound healing.