Liver serves as an important organ in the detoxification of various drugs and xenobiotics in the body and drug-induced liver diseases is said to accounts for about 50% of all hospital admissions and 50% of all acute liver failure resulting in the withdrawal of some approved drugs from the market. 1,2 The withdrawal of these drugs appears to be as a result of enormous toxicities arising from the liver such as unique vascular, secretory, synthetic and metabolic effects. 3 Excessive production of pro-oxidants and ROS in the liver can result in the damage of both structural and functional integrity of the liver cells amounting to widespread liver toxicities. 4 Antioxidants protect the human body against the damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS). 5 These ROS are produced in vivo through various biochemical reactions and respiratory chain coming from occasional leakage. 6 The leakages are the main agents in lipid peroxidation and several anti-inflammatory, digestive, anti-neurotic, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective drugs have recently been shown to have antioxidant and/or radical scavenging activities. 7

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Ficus platyphylla (Fp) has been used in Nigerian traditional medicine for the management of pain, ulcer, wound, epilepsy and inflammation. The efficacy of its gum from the stem bark for the management of wound has been widely acclaimed among the Hausa communities of Northern Nigeria and therefore, this study was aimed at examining the antimicrobial and wound healing potential of methanol extract of F. platyphylla stem bark (MEFpSB) in order to provide scientific basis for its antimicrobial and wound healing properties. Preliminary phytochemical screening was done and antimicrobial activity using some pathogenic micro-organisms were evaluated following its wound healing effectiveness in Wistar rats using the model of superficial skin excision wound. Data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnet’s t-test. The results of preliminary phytochemical screeningrevealed the presence of carbohydrate, cardiac glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, triterpenes, tannins, alkaloids with anthraquinones absent. The extract showed antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium ulcerans, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Salmonella typhi and significant (p< 0.05, p< 0.001) decrease in wound measurement for 11 days. This study demonstrated that MEFpSB possesses antimicrobial activity with wound healing properties that justifies the ethno-medicinal use of the plant in wound/ulcer healings. Keywords: Wound healing; Antimicrobial; Ficus platyphylla; Formulation; Topical