Masters Thesis
This study was conducted to evaluate the antifungal activity and wound healing potential of a cream from AMBU leave extracts. In this study AMBU leaf ethanol and aqueous extract were used in the formulation of cream. The antifungal activity was determined by broth microdilution method. Wound healing potential was assessed using mice which were divided randomly into seven groups (n=7) and inflicted with wound. Group 1 received no treatment while groups 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were given cream base, Silver sulfadiazine cream (1% SS), 15% AMBU, 7.5% AMBU, 1% AMBU and 10 mg AMBU extracts respectively in order to evaluate dose effect relationship of AMBU cream. The percentage of wound healing on day 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 were assessed. The physicochemical properties of the cream were within acceptable limit. The pH was in the range of 6.1- 6.8 which is comparable to skin pH. The MIC for antifungal cream was 9.38 mg/ml and 12.5 mg/ml for ethanol and aqueous cream respectively. There was a significant improvement in wound healing after application of AMBU cream with 15%, 7.5%, 1% and 10 mg of pure AMBU extracts compared to the negative control on day 4 (p<0.05), 6 (p<0.01) and 8 (p<0.01). On day 10 wound closure was comparable in all groups (p>0.05). The rate of wound healing was comparable with that of reference standard of 1% SS. AMBU cream revealed antifungal activity and wound healing potential. This activity may be ascribed to the presence of phytochemical contents an observation that require further studies. It is concluded that AMBU cream has the potential for treatment of fungal infection and wound healing.