Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Wound Healing Properties of Kigelia africana (Lam.) Beneth. and Strophanthus hispidus DC.

Microbial infections of various types of wounds are a challenge to the treatment of wounds and wound healing. The study was to investigate antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of methanol leaf and stem bark extracts of Kigelia africana and methanol leaf and root extracts of Strophanthus hispidus and also to determine wound healing properties of the extracts. The antimicrobial activities of the methanol extracts were determined against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria and a fungus using agar diffusion and micro-dilution methods. The antioxidant activity was determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl–hydrazyl (DPPH) method. The influence of the extracts on rate of wound closure was investigated using the excision wound model and histopathological investigation of treated and untreated wound tissues performed. The MICs of leaf extract of K. africana against test organisms were 2.5–7.5 mg/mL and stem bark extract were 2.25–7.5 mg/mL. The leaf extract of S. hispidus had MIC range of 2.5–7.5 mg/mL and 2.5–10 mg/mL for root extract. The IC(50) of leaf and stem bark extracts of K. africana were 56.9 and 13.7 μg/mL, respectively and leaf and root of S. hispidus were 49.8 and 45.1 μg/mL, respectively. K. africana extracts (7.5% w/w) showed significant (P < 0.05) wound contraction at day 7 with 72% of wound closure whiles significant (P < 0.05) wound contractions were observed on day 11 for stem bark of K. africana, leaf and root extracts of S. hispidus. Wound tissues treated with the extracts showed improved collagenation, re-epitheliazition and rapid granulation formation compared with untreated wound tissues. The extracts were found to contain alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, carbohydrates, and sapogenetic glycosides. The HPLC finger-printing of the extracts were developed. The leaf, stem bark and root extracts of K. africana and S. hispidus exhibited antimicrobial, antioxidant, and enhanced wound healing properties and these may justify the medicinal uses of the plants for treatment of microbial infections and wounds.