Investigation of Effect of Murraya Koenigii on Biophysical and Biochemical Parameters of Wound in Diabetic Hyperlipidemic Wistar Rats

Plants have been used in traditional medicine for several thousand years. India is perhaps the largest producer of medicinal herbs and is rightly called the “Botanical garden of the World”. Murraya koenigii Linn. commonly known as Meethi neem, belongs to the family Rutaceae. The curry tree is native to India and it is found almost everywhere in the Indian subcontinent excluding the higher levels of Himalayas. The effect of Murraya koenigii leaves aqueous extract on biophysical and biochemical parameters of wound were studied by dead space wound model in diabetic hyperlipidemic rats. In dead space wound model, animals treated with Murraya koenigii (oral administration of variable dosage level 200mg/kg, 300mg/kg and 400mg/kg) leaves aqueous extract showed significant increase in Wet & Dry granulations tissue weight (biophysical parameter) and hydroxyprolin content (biochemical parameter) when compared to the diabetic hyperlipidemic control group rats. In this study, very significant (p<0.001) result was found with 300mg/kg dose level because the effect was dose dependent up to 300mg equivalent of extract. The results suggested that aqueous extract of Murraya koenigii possess significant wound healing potential in diabetic hyperlipidemic rats. Further studies may reveal the exact mechanisms of action responsible for the wound healing activity of Murraya koenigii leaves aqueous extract in diabetic hyperlipidemic condition. INTRODUCTION: The function of skin is to serve as a protective barrier against the environment. Wounds are physical injuries that result in an opening or break of the skin. After injury, the objective of wound healing is to restore structure and function to an injured tissue in order to approximate pre-wound characteristics. Healing is a complex and intricate process initiated in response to an injury that restores the function and integrity of damaged tissues. Healing process can be broadly categorized into three stages; inflammatory phase (consisting the establishment of homeostasis and inflammation); proliferate phase (consisting of granulation, contraction and epithelialization) and finally the remodeling phase which ultimately determines the strength and appearance of the healed tissue . The prevalence of chronic wounds in the community was reported as 4.5 per 1000 population whereas that of acute wounds was nearly doubled at 10.5 per 1000 population .