ORIGINAL RESEARCH Evaluation of wound healing potential of Calotropis gigantea latex studied on excision wounds in experimental rats V. Saratha Æ S. Subramanian Æ S. Sivakumar Received: 25 January 2009 / Accepted: 25 August 2009 / Published online: 23 September 2009 Ó Birkha ¨user Boston 2009 Abstract The present study was aimed at evaluating the wound healing potential of Calotropis gigantea latex on excision wound induced in rats. Topical application of Calotropis gigantea latex extract ointment (10% w/w in petroleum gel) for 14 days significantly improved wound contraction when compared with control group of rats. The levels of hydroxyproline (collagen), hexosamine, uronic acid, DNA, RNA, and protein in the wound matrix revealed the pro-healing effects of Calotropis gigantea latex. The results obtained were comparable to those of nitrofurazone, a standard drug widely used for wound healing. The pro-wound- healing activity of the latex extract may be due to its high content of glycosides, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and triterpenoids with antimicrobial and antioxi- dant properties. From the results obtained, it may be concluded that Calotropis gigantea latex has the potential to be developed into new therapeutic agent for wound healing. Keywords Wound healing  Calotropis gigantea  Latex  Excision wound  Hydroxyproline Introduction Wounds cause discomfort and are more prone to infection and other troublesome complications (Meyer-Ingold, 1993). Impaired wound healing leads to significant patient morbidity and mortality. With a rapidly increasing aging population that has multiple comorbidities that predispose to wound development and decreased healing efficiency, the cost of wound healing is expected to escalate proportionally. V. Saratha  S. Subramanian (&)  S. Sivakumar Department of Biochemistry, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai 600 025, Tamil Nadu, India e-mail: subbus2020@yahoo.co.in Med Chem Res (2010) 19:936–947 DOI 10.1007/s00044-009-9240-6 MEDICINAL CHEMISTR Y RESEARCH