In Vivo Study on the Effect of African Black Tea Extract on Wound Healing

Abstract

Background: The use of alternative medicine is on the rise worldwide. Black tea (Camellia Sinensis) is believed to assist in wound healing among communities who apply it topically. This had however not been scientifically proven. Objective: To investigate the in vivo effects of black tealeaves extracts on different stages of wound healing from haemostasis to remodelling. Methodology: Following acclimatization, twenty-eight male pure breed Albino Wistar rats were randomly divided into two major groups, an excisional group (n=22) and an incisional group (n=6). The animals were anaesthetized, their dorsums shaved to expose the surgical site and antisepsis performed. Two 4 cm long, full thickness, incisional wounds (control and experimental) were inflicted on the respective groups. The incisions were then closed using nylon 2-0 interrupted sutures to allow healing by primary intention. Two circular full thickness excisional wounds (control and experimental) each measuring 4 mm in diameter were inflicted on the excisional wounds group, and allowed to heal by secondary intention. Postoperatively, analgesia and prophylactic antibiotic was provided to prevent infection. They received daily 100 mg/ml aqueous extract of black tea on experimental wounds and distilled water on control wounds. Bleeding time, clotting time, coagulation profile, biometric measurements of wound closure, histomorphological analysis, and tensile strength of the incision wounds were measured. Results: Black tea extract significantly lowered the clotting time and activated partial thromboplastin time in comparison to the control. The experimental wounds containing the extract demonstrated faster rates of closure, re-epithelialization, matrix deposition and remodelling. The experimental wounds also had a higher mean tensile strength on days 15 and 30 compared to the control. The extract did not significantly affect the bleeding time and mean prothrombin time of the experimental wounds. Conclusion: African black tea enhances wound healing and could potentially be a good source of wound healing compounds.