Evaluation of Wound Healing Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Aerva tomentosa Forsk

Herbal drugs are already in vouge as therapeutic agents for thousands of years but in present times there is a need to re-valuate their clinical efficacy. Aerva tomentosa Forsk. is recognized by its white axillary bunches of small woolly flowers and traditionaly claimed for its wound healing activity. Wound healing activity of ethanolic extract of Aerva tomentosa Forsk. was evaluated on excision and incision wound using Wistar rats of either sex. Percentage of wound contraction was measured in excision wound, whereas tensile strength of healed wound was measured in incision wound. In excision wound, wound contraction was 93.8 % on 16^th day for Aerva tomentosa treated groups. In incision model, significant increase in tensile strength of healed wound was observed in the concentrated ethanolic extract.