Wound Healing Properties of Some Ghanaian Medicinal Plants : Antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of selected Ghanaian wound healing medicinal plants

The aim of the present study was to scientifically validate the use of four (4) less explored Ghanaian medicinal plants which find use in Traditional medicine as anti-infectives and wound healing agents. The antibacterial effects of the plant extracts and isolated compounds were investigated using the agar well diffusion and micro dilution assays. The antioxidant effects of the extracts and isolated compounds on lipid peroxidation as well as their potential as scavengers were investigated. The total phenol content and total antioxidant capacity were also investigated. The anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts were investigated using the carrageenan-induced foot pad oedema model in 7- day old chicks. On the basis of the observed activities, three of these, namely: Margaritaria discoidea stem bark, Glyphaea brevis stem bark and Gouania longipetala stem were further investigated phytochemically. Phytochemical investigations of all three plant materials led to the characterization of twelve (12) compounds.