BackgroundAllamanda cathartica. L. is a perennial shrub used in traditional medicine for treating malaria and jaundice. Laurus nobilis. L. is a tree and has been used for its astringent, healing and diuretic properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the aqueous extracts of Allamanda and Laurus nobilis to evaluate their wound healing activity in rats.MethodsExcision and incision wound models were used to evaluate the wound healing activity of both the extracts on Sprague Dawley rats. In each model, animals were divided into four groups of 10 animals each. In both the model, group 1 served as control and group 2 as reference standard. In an excision wound model, group 3 animals were treated with Allamanda (150 mg kg-1 day-1) and group 4 animals were treated with Laurus nobilis (200 mg kg-1 b.w day-1) for 14 days respectively. In the case of incision wound model, group 3 and 4 animals were treated with the extracts of Allamanda and Laurus respectively for 10 days. The effects of vehicles on the rate of wound healing were assessed by the rate of wound closure, period of epithelialisation, tensile strength, weights of the granulation tissue, hydroxyproline content and histopathology of the granulation tissue.ResultsThe aqueous extract of Allamanda promoted wound healing activity significantly in both the wound models studied. High rate of wound contraction (P < .001), decrease in the period of epithelialisation (10.2 ± 0.13), high skin breaking strength (440.0 ± 4.53), significant increase in the weight of the granulation tissue (P < .001) and hydroxyproline (P < .001) content were observed in animals treated with the aqueous extract of Allamanda. Histological studies of the granulation tissue from the Allamanda treated group showed the presence of a lesser number of inflammatory cells, and increased collagen formation than the control. In Laurus nobilis treated animals, the rate of wound contraction, weight of the granulation tissue and hydroxyproline content were moderately high (P < .05). The histological study of the granulation tissue of the Laurus nobilis treated animals showed larger number of inflammatory cells, and lesser collagen when compared with the Allamanda treated group of animals. However, it was better than the control group of animals.ConclusionThe data of this study indicated that the leaf extract of Allamanda possesses better wound healing activity than the Laurus nobilis and it can be used to treat different types of wounds in human beings too.

OBJECTIVES:The objective of this study was designed to investigate medical students’ perceptions of small group teaching effectiveness in a hybrid curriculum.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted at the School of Medicine, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine where we collected the data from 195 undergraduate students. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 25 items was used to measure students’ perception on the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) with regard to learning experience, teamwork, confidence, communication skills, and role of the tutor. Statistical analyses included mean and standard deviation for the description of each item; t-test to compare the mean scores for gender and class year, and one-way analysis of variance between groups for age group comparisons.RESULTS:The students overall perceptions of small group teaching effectiveness showed that the PBL sessions were beneficial to their learning process (mean: 3.63 ± 0.46). Students have positive perceptions toward small group effectiveness, particularly in learning experience (mean: 3.98 ± 0.63) and teamwork (mean: 3.67 ± 0.58). The mean scores, measuring teamwork, for 2nd year students was significantly higher than that for 1st year students (3.76 ± 0.55 and 3.55 ± 0.60 respectively, P = 013). A similar significant trend was observed between 2nd year and 1st year students on communication skills (3.48 ± 0.67 and 3.29 ± 0.55, respectively, P = 0.046).CONCLUSIONS:PBL is an effective small group teaching method for medical students. Faculty development and students’ training programs are required before implementing PBL.

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Vinca rosea (Catharanthus roseus L.) is native to the Caribbean Basin and has historically been used to treat a wide assortment of diseases. European herbalists used the plant for conditions as varied as headache to a folk remedy for diabetes. The objective of the study is to evaluate the diabetic wound healing activity of Vinca rosea using the excision wound model in a streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. The animals were weight matched and placed into five groups (n=6 per group). Animals in groups 1 and 2 were normal control (Vaseline) and normal experimental (extract treated) respectively; those in groups 3 and 4 were the diabetic control and diabetic experimental batches. Diabetic animals in a reference group 5 were treated with topical mupirocin ointment. All animals were experimentally wounded on the posterior surface. The ethanol extract of Vinca rosea (100 mg kg -1 body weight) was applied to animals of group 2 and 4 for ten days. Wounds were measured on days 1, 5 and 11. The granulation tissue formed on the wound was excised on the 11 th day and used for the histology and biochemical work up. The wound size in animals of the Vinca rosea treated group were significantly reduced (P<0.001) when compared with the diabetic control and mupirocin treated animals. Significant increases in the weight of the granulation tissue (P<0.001) and the hydroxyproline content (P<0.001) were also observed in extract treated animals. Our present study showed that the ethanol extract of Vinca rosea promotes significant wound healing and closure in diabetic rats compared with mupirocin and further evaluation of this activity in humans is suggested.