Potential Wound Healing Activity of Citrus micrantha Rut. (Biasong) Ethanolic Peel Extract on Excised Cutaneous Wounds in Male Albino Mice

Many Citrus plants, such as C. reticulata, C. aurantium, C. aurantifolia, C. sinensis, C. maxima, C. medica, C. clementina, C. paradisi, and C. limon, are recognized for their wound healing properties [36] [8] [6] [2] [3]. However, there is a lack of research specifically focused on Citrus micrantha (Biasong)—a wild plant native to the Philippines, known for its culinary and medicinal applications [19]. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the wound healing activity of the plant’s peels using ethanol as the extraction solvent, focusing on excised cutaneous wounds in male Swiss albino mice. To accomplish this, toxicity testing based on OECD 402: Acute Dermal Toxicity guidelines was conducted before preparing the ethanolic peel extract at varying concentrations (1%, 5%, and 10%) and incorporating it into ointment formulations deemed safe for the test subjects. These formulations were topically applied to the dorsal area of the mice, with wound contraction measurements serving as the parameter to evaluate healing progress over a 14-day observation period. A significant difference in wound healing activity between treatment groups was most evident by Day 14, with the 10% extract showing the highest contraction (99.194%) and smallest final wound area (0.2278 mm2 ), followed by the 5% extract (98.772%, 0.347 mm2 ), 1% extract (98.678%, 0.37 mm2 ), negative control (97.22%, 0.7854 mm2 ), and positive control (94.616%, 1.522 mm2 ). The study concluded that the application of C. micrantha ethanolic peel extract ointment promoted wound healing and demonstrated a significant improvement compared to the positive control (Povidone-Iodine ointment).