A REVIEW ON PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDY OF ANTIOXIDANT AND WOUND HEALING CAPACITY IN ACHYRANTHES ASPERA L. STEM

Achyranthes aspera (family Amaranthaceae), widely known as the prickly chaff flower, has long been used in traditional medicine to manage various health conditions. In many parts of East Africa and other regions, different parts of the plant are applied in the treatment of wounds, ringworm, and several other ailments. In the present investigation, leaf extracts of A. aspera gathered from two distinct locations— Ciaat in Eritrea and Ukulinga in South Africa—were examined for their antibacterial, antifungal, and anthelmintic properties. The study also assessed the presence of key phenolic compounds and evaluated protein-binding capacity. The antimicrobial screening involved two Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae), two Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus), the yeast-like fungus Candida albicans, and the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Results showed that both aqueous and acetone extracts from the Ciaat samples demonstrated strong antimicrobial and anthelmintic effects, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values below 1 mg/ml in most cases. The only exception was the aqueous extract tested against E. coli, which displayed moderate activity. Conversely, extracts from Ukulinga generally exhibited moderate to low biological activity, although certain acetone-based extracts showed notable effectiveness against selected microorganisms. Chemical profiling using UHPLC-MS/MS revealed differences in phenolic composition between the two sample sources. Notably, compounds such as rutin, chlorogenic acid, and genistein were absent in the Ukulinga extracts. Variations were also detected in protein- binding capacity, a factor that may help predict wound-healing potential. Overall, extracts derived from plants collected in Ciaat consistently showed greater biological potency than those obtained from Ukulinga, suggesting that geographical origin significantly influences phytochemical composition and therapeutic activity.