Development and characterization of Morinda tinctoria incorporated electrospun PHBV fiber mat for wound healing application

As synthetic medications have various limitations and side effects in wound treatment, alternatively active wound dressing material could be designed by incorporating natural extracts. Electrospun fibers infused with plant extract can act as an active wound dressing material to speed up the process of wound healing. In this connection, the wound-healing efficacy of an Indian traditional drug Morinda tinctoria was reported earlier, but not yet explored as a natural active ingredient in electrospun fibers. The present work focused on preparing the extracts of M. tinctoria leaf and analyzing their yield, total phenolic concentration (TPC) and GC-MS phytochemical profile. The safety of methanol extract was studied in PBMC cells through MTT and live/dead assays and also TNF-alpha & IL-6 levels were quantified. Electrospinning of M. tinctoria-infused PHBV fiber mat was developed and characterized through SEM, FT-IR and TG-DTA. Results indicated that the methanol extract has a greater yield (2.47%) and TPC (4260.72 mg/L) when compared to other solvent extracts due to the presence of high polar molecules in M. tinctoria. GC-MS study revealed the phytochemicals such as coumarin and methylanthraquinone in the methanolic extract. MTT assay and live/dead staining revealed that the M. tinctoria extract was safe with 99% cell viability with intact cell wall. M. tinctoria induced the levels of TNF-alpha (328.75 pg/mL) and IL-6 (1357.14 pg/mL), which could improve the migration and proliferation of fibroblasts during wound healing. Development of M. tinctoria-infused fiber mat was optimized with 12% polymer concentration, 18 kV voltage, 0.01 mL/min flow rate and 14 cm tip to collector distance. SEM analysis of M. tinctoria-infused fiber mat revealed bead-less smooth fibers of 1.19 +/- 0.15 mu m diameter and 0.024 +/- 0.003 mu m pore size. FT-IR spectra revealed functional groups such as phenols, amines and alkanes in extract-incorporated fibers. A drop in temperature (457 degrees C) was noticed in M. tinctoria-infused fiber mat when compared to the control (595 degrees C), which indicates the degradation of organic matters in the fiber mat. M. tinctoria-infused fiber mat could be applied as wound dressing material after conducting suitable animal experiments. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

By incorporating Morinda tinctoria extract into electrospun fibers, it can serve as an active wound dressing material to accelerate wound healing. The extract showed safety and enhanced migration and proliferation of fibroblasts. The fiber mat possessed favorable physical and chemical properties.