Context: Despite the traditional use of Bergia ammannioides Henye ex Roth. (Elatinaceae) for the treatment of wounds in India, there is a scarcity of scientific data supporting this use.
Objective: The objective of this study is to assess wound-healing potentiality of the plant, to study pharmacological activities that may contribute in eliminating wound complications, and to investigate the biologically active fractions.
Material and methods: The ethanolic extract (EtOH) of the aerial parts was fractionated to obtain n-hexane (HxFr), chloroform (ClFr), ethyl acetate (EtFr), and n-butanol (BuOH) fractions. EtOH and its fractions were formulated in strength of 5 and 10% w/w ointment and tested for wound-healing activity using the excision model. The topical anti-inflammatory, in vitro antioxidant, and antibacterial activities were evaluated. HxFr and EtFr were chemically investigated to isolate their constituents.
Results: Application of EtOH, HxFr, and EtFr (10% w/w ointments) leads to 71.77, 85.62, and 81.29% healing of the wounds with an increase in the collagen content. HxFr had the strongest anti-inflammatory (64.5% potency relative to Voltaren®) and antibacterial activity (MIC = 104 μg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus), while EtFr showed the strongest antioxidant activity against DPPH, ABTS(•+), and super oxide radical with an IC50 value of 10.25 ± 0.01, 66.09 ± 0.76, and 167.33 ± 0.91 µg/ml, respectively. β-Sitosterol, lupeol, cyclolaudenol, and cycloartenol were isolated from HxFr. Quercetin, ellagic acid, kaempferol-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside, and quercetin-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside were isolated from EtFr.
Discussion and conclusion: Our study presents scientific evidence for the efficacy of B. ammannioides in enhancing wound healing, and the first isolation of cyclolaudenol and cycloartenol from Bergia.
Keywords: Cycloartenol; cyclolaudenol; wound complications.