ABSTRACT

Aframomum melegueta, commonly known as grains of paradise or alligator pepper, is a tropical spice and medicinal plant indigenous to West Africa. This plant belongs to the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) and has been traditionally used for both culinary and medicinal purposes for centuries. This plant contains a variety of phytochemicals, some of which are responsible for its flavour and potential health benefits, such as antimicrobial and wound healing effects. Examples include alkaloids, tannins, phenols, saponins, flavonoids, etc. Both statistical and clinical approaches can be used to characterize hypotony. When the intraocular pressure (IOP) drops below 6.5 mmHg, an eye is statistically termed hypotonous. When eye pressure is so low that vision loss results, it is referred to as clinical hypotony. When an eye's IOP falls below 10 mm Hg, it is deemed hypotonic. However, hypotony may not be a problem unless the IOP drops below 5 mm Hg. The purpose of this study was to investigate the IOP, and wound healing effects of Aframomum melegueta seed, leaf and root extracts in rabbit eyes.This research was an experimental study that was performed on the eyes of 16 live rabbits, in which extracts of Aframomum melegueta seeds, leaf and root were administered on their eyes for three and four days to monitor for wound healing and IOP rise respectively.  Thereafter, data was taken and analysed. The data collected was entered and analysed using the GenStat Release 12.1. The paired t-test was used to test for the significant difference between the different rabbit groups before and after treatments with the extracts. Data gotten from this study was analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Association between categorical parameters were analysed using the Pearson correlation test. It was found that the root extract of this plant offered a great therapeutic effect for IOP rise and wound healing compared with the seed and leaf extracts, the seed extract exacerbated the conditions of the rabbits for wound healing, while also having the least rate of IOP rise and data obtained served as contribution for further research work that can enhance successful eye care practice.

Keywords: Aframomum melegueta, hypotony, rabbit, eye, intraocular pressure, wound healing.