Abstract:
Twenty-six wound healing plants have been identified in the Kpando Traditional Area in Ghana. The methanol extracts of six of these plants showed some level of antimicrobial activity against wound causing infectious microorganisms. Similarly, four of these plants exhibited significant wound healing properties. Free radical scavenging activity by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl radical (DPPH) indicated a concentration dependent activity with no significant difference from Ascorbic acid (P<0.05) except for Amaranthus spinosus. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and Ferric reducing antioxidant power showed a similar concentration dependent antioxidant activity and reducing potentials respectively. The high antioxidant activities of the extracts significantly correlated with the total phenolic and flavonoid contents. The high correlation between the values of DPPH and TAC indicates the viability of the two models for evaluating antioxidants from medicinal plants. Further investigation on Anogeissus leiocarpus yielded two different flavonoid glycosides whose structures were identified through spectral analysis (1DNMR, FTIR and UV) as quercetin rhamnoglucoside (rutin) and isoflavonoid glucoside.
The findings revealed that the plants possess considerably wound healing, antimicrobial and high antioxidant properties which may provide protection against free radicals induced damage to biomolecules. The study therefore supports the traditional use of these plants and recommends further investigation into the mechanism of action on the isolated compounds for possible drug development.
