EFFECT OF WHOLE SNAKE TOMATOE (TRICHOSANTHES CUCUMERINA) ON WOUND HEALING USING WISTAR RAT.

Paul Chikwuogwo Wokpeogu, Edibamode Ezon-Ebidor Innocent and Paul John Nwolim*

ABSTRACT

Background: Wounds have been part of mankind from the time of creation till date. In this research, titled the effect of snake tomato on wound healing, the wound morphometry and white blood cell count were determined. Material and Method: 28 gram concentration of snake tomato (Trichosanthes cucumerina) was prepared. 24 male Wister rats weighing aproximately 180g were used in this research. They were grouped into a control (C) and experimental groups (E) with each comprising 12 rats. A wound size of 2cm by 2cm were inflicted on the dorsolateral aspect of the thorax of all the rats, measured and recorded. The animals in the control group were dressed using distilled water while those in experimental group were dressed using 28g concentration of snake tomato. Results and Discussions: The % mean wound contraction on day 3 control group was (9.73±5.01) and experimental group (51.69± 11.64) this was statistically significant (P<0.05). The % mean wound contraction on day 6 control group (38.8±8.33) and experimental group (70.75±9.10) also statistically significant. The % mean wound contraction on day 9 control group was (57±9.22) and the experimental group (87.1±4.43) was statistically significant (P<0.05). However, the mean healing day of control group (18.75±1.49) as against the experimental group (15.00±0.00) was statistically insignificant (P>0.05). The histological analysis of these tissues revealed that there were more neutrophils and macrophages at day 3 then day 9. Conclusion: All these observations point towards the fact that 28% concentration of snake tomato has the ability to accelerate wound healing.

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