WOUND-HEALING PROPERTY OF THE FORMULATED OINTMENT USING EXTRACTED CURCUMIN FROM THE CURCUMA LONGA L. (FAM. ZINGIBERACEAE) POWDER AMONG DIABETES-INDUCED SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS

Diabetes mellitus can lead to impaired healing of wounds and can cause life-long complications. Curcumin is reported as one of the promising therapeutic agents in the management of impaired wound healing in diabetics. This study aimed to formulate a wound-healing ointment from the extracted curcumin and evaluate its efficacy among diabetes-induced rats. The extract was subjected to organoleptic evaluation, phytochemical screening, pre-formulation studies, and thin layer chromatography. Three trial formulations of ointment were prepared with varying concentrations of the extract. Prior to wound excision, alloxan monohydrate (110 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally among thirty male Sprague Dawley rats to induce diabetes. The trial formulations of ointment were then applied in all treatment and control diabetic rat (FBG of > 200 mg/dL) groups for 14 days.  The wound-healing activity was assessed through the following parameters: percent wound closure (PWC), period of epithelialization (PE), percentage of scar formed (PSF), and histopathological analysis. Among the trial formulations, 10% extracted curcumin ointment exhibited the highest PWC, fastest rate of wound closure, shortest PE, and comparable histopathological results with the positive control. Statistical analyses (α≤0.05) further confirmed that 10% extracted curcumin ointment was significantly different from the positive control (Mupirocin) in terms of PE, and the negative control (placebo), in terms of PWC and PE. No significant difference was shown on the PSF of the treatment groups and the positive control. In conclusion, 10% extracted curcumin ointment has the highest wound-healing activity and was selected for the final formulation which passed all quality control parameters.