benefits of ethanolic extract paste of noni (morinda citrifolia l.) leaves on oral mucosa wound healing by examination of fibroblast cells

Wound healing is a biological response that occurred following trauma or pathologic condition of the oral mucosa. The wound itself needs proper management so it may heal faster and without complication. One of the indicators of wound healing in oral mucosa is fibroblast cells. In remodelling phase, fibroblast would decrease as they matured into fibrocyte and the collagen fibers has been synthesized. Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) leaf is traditionally used to heal skin wound. The leaves has chemical compounds that may be useful in wound repair process. This experimental research was performed to examine the effect of Indonesian noni  leaves ethanolic extract paste in oral mucosa wound healing by investigating visual wound closure and fibroblast cell count in Wistar rat. Rats were divided into 2 control groups and 4 treatment groups. The paste was formulated in 2.5%, 5%, 10% and 20% concentration, and each of it were applied on oral mucosa wound of treatment group rats. One control groups was given no medication and the other was applied ethanolic extract of noni leaves in 10% gel. The study showed that all paste-treated group has better wound closure (p<0.05) compared to control groups. However, fibroblast cell count did not show any significance among all groups (p=0.143) the cells in paste-treated group in all concentration were lower than control groups.  It may be concluded that topical paste formula of noni leaves ethanolic extract promotes oral mucosa wound healing better than gel formula.