The effect of Henna (Lawsonia inermis) on the wound healing of Local Arabian Horses

Abstract

This study was conducted on (15) local horses to assess the effect of henna extract on wound healing in horses , the horses divided randomly into five groups ( first four groups were regarded as henna extract solutions treatment 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% respectively and the fifth group was regarded as control group ) and (3) horses for each group. All the horses were submitted to cutaneous incisions in the neck regions , the henna extract treatment groups were treated locally and daily for (21) days except the control group which treated with distal water only. The clinical signs of each wound were recorded daily and swabs were taken for bacterial examinations at ( 7, 14, 21 ) days to diagnose the types of bacteria which grew in the wounds and study the effect of henna extract on their growth, at first they were cultured in nutrient broth and smears were done for gram stain evaluation then they transferred to special media for each type of them, red manitol agar for Staphylococcus aureus , blood agar and brain heart broth for Streptococcus equi and cetrimide agar for Pseudomonas erogenosa . The results showed the superiority of the henna extract solution at 20% concentration according to the clinical signs of the wound ( swollen, bleeding, dryness, abscess formation, epithelization and scar tissue formation ) and the henna extract solution with its different concentrations showed gradually absence of wound edges swollen, no bleeding, dryness, intensive growth of epithelial tissue, no abscess formation and scar tissue since the first week of the treatment. Also the results showed clearly the cidal effect of the henna extract solutions (10%, 15%, 20%) respectively for the Staphylococcus aureus , Streptococcus equi , Pseudomonas erogenosa. The histo – pathological examination of the wound which treated by henna extract solution at 20% concentration showed strong healing with thick keratinized tissue, hyperproliferation of the epidermal layer, presence of profuse fibrosis and clear growth of new blood vessels in compare with control group .