Tabernaemontana Pandacaqui Poir

A.Background of the Study
One of the more common occurrences in our daily life is sustaining wounds ranging from mild abrasions to deep lacerations. Wounds that are left untreated can result to infections and other complications, so proper remediation must be done immediately.

For the past several years, there has been a lot of advancement in the field of medicine. The discovery of new drugs has played a big role in the improvement of our health care. But due to the prohibitive cost of these drugs, people tend to use herbs as an alternative.

Studies have shown that some plants are as effective as the drugs found in the drugstores. There are plants found in the Philippines that have different uses such as in the treatment of diseases and illnesses. Examples of these plants are guava, lagundi and oregano. Boiled guava leaves are used as a disinfectant to treat wounds, lagundi leaves are used to treat cough and the decoction of the oregano leaves are used to cure stomach aches and degenerative arthritis. Their healing and medicinal properties can serve as an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs which could be expensive. These medicinal plants came from natural sources, making them even more beneficial because of their cost-effectiveness.

Pandakaki-puti is a shrub with elongated leaves and white flowers. Its leaves can be used as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and treatment for hypotention. Besides these, the white milky sap from the leaf of the pandakaki-puti (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui Poir) has been used for relieving itchy skin lesions and eczema. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the sap of the pandakaki-puti leaves, when made into an ointment, on the wound healing of the rat. B.Objective

The objectives of this study is o determine the effectiveness of the pandakaki-puti ointment on the wound healing of the rat and to compare the healing rates of the wound that is treated with the pandakaki-puti ointment with that of the control. C.Significance of the Study

This research explores the realm of alternative medicine with our local plants as its source. Medicines are becoming more & more unaffordable due to its escalating cost. Cheaper alternatives that are equally effective like Tabernaemontana Pandacaqui Poir will be preferred by the marginalized sector. This plant can be found in ones backyard, making it readily available. Friendliness to the environment is also one factor to be considered. Manufacturing, packaging & importing of the drugs by the pharmaceutical company will inevitably cause some chemical pollution that would destroy mother earth.

In treating wounds, the faster the healing time the better. A natural way is by using the sap of pandakaki-puti leaves. Determining its rate of wound healing will enable us to reduce morbidity the soonest possible time. D.Scope

The coverage of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the sap of the pandakaki-puti leaves, when made into an ointment, on the wound healing of the rat and to compare the healing rates between the wound that is treated with the ointment and the untreated wound. However, this study will not be comparing the effectiveness of the pandakaki-puti ointment with other plant products.

II. Review of Related Literature

To cure eczema, boil 3 cups of chopped leaves in one gallon of water for 10 minutes; add 2 gallons of hot water. Also, fry the fresh leaves in oil and apply to itchy skins lesions for symptomatic relief.

Wound healing, or cicatrisation, is an intricate process in which the skin (or another organ-tissue) repairs itself after injury. In normal skin, the epidermis (outermost layer) and dermis (inner or deeper layer) exists in steady-state equilibrium, forming a protective barrier against the external environment. Once the protective barrier is broken, the normal (physiologic) process of wound healing is immediately set in motion. The classic model of wound healing is divided into three or four sequential, yet overlapping, phases: (1) hemostasis (not considered a phase by some authors), (2) inflammatory, (3) proliferative and (4) remodeling. Upon injury to the skin, a set of complex biochemical events takes place in a closely orchestrated cascade to repair the damage. Within minutes post-injury, platelets (thrombocytes) aggregate at the injury site to form a fibrin clot. This clot acts to control active bleeding (hemostasis). In the inflammatory phase, bacteria and debris are phagocytosed and removed, and factors are released that cause the migration and division of cells involved in the proliferative phase. The proliferative phase is characterized by angiogenesis, collagen deposition, granulation tissue formation, epithelialization, and wound contraction.

In angiogenesis, new blood vessels are formed by vascular endothelial cells. In fibroplasia and granulation tissue formation, fibroblasts grow and form a new, provisional extracellular matrix (ECM) by excreting collagen and fibronectin. Concurrently, re-epithelialization of the epidermis occurs, in which epithelial cells proliferate and ‘crawl’ atop the wound bed, providing cover for the new tissue. In contraction, the wound is made smaller by the action of myofibroblasts, which establish a grip on the wound edges and contract themselves using a mechanism similar to that in smooth muscle cells. When the cells’ roles are close to complete, unneeded cells undergo apoptosis. In the maturation and remodeling phase, collagen is remodeled and realigned along tension lines and cells that are no longer needed are removed by apoptosis. However, this process is not only complex but fragile, and susceptible to interruption or failure leading to the formation of non-healing chronic wounds. Factors which may contribute to this include diabetes, venous or arterial disease, old age, and infection.

III. Methodology
A.Materials
2 male albino rat
rat cage
food and water for the rat
caliper
blade
sap of the pandakaki-puti leaf
small ointment container
beeswax
vegetable oil
metal pan
stainless spoon
stainless bowl
water
razor
mortar and pestle

B.Treatment/ General Procedure
To make the ointment base, 8 grams of vegetable oil and 8 grams of beeswax were placed in a stainless steel bowl and were heated in a water bath until they melted. Then, 8 grams of the sap of the pandakaki-puti leaf, which was extracted with the use of a mortar and pestle, was added to the mixture and was stirred well. The mixture was then removed from the water bath and it was transferred to an ointment container to cool.