Bixa Orellana Essay

CHAPTER 1

Introduction and Background

Bixa Orellana (achuete) from the family Bixaceae is a shrub or bushy tree grown from either seeds or cut lings which ranges from 3 to 10 meters in height that can be found in regions spanning the globe. It requires full sunlight and protection from the wind. The plant grows equally well in lowlands and mountainous regions or areas of higher elevation and is cultivated in warm regions of the world, such as India, Sri Lanka, Java, Philippines, southeastern Africa and Dominica, and is commonly planted in Florida as an ornamental. Variety of common names were given for B. Orellana (achuete) in different places depending where it flourished. It is most frequently called "annato" in the North America and "achuete"

It may be produced due to physical, chemical, thermal, microbial or immunological exploitation to the tissues. In short, wound is a break in the epithelial integrity of the skin and it can be accompanied by a disruption of the structure and function of the underlying normal tissue that may also result from a contusion, hematoma, laceration, or an abrasion.

According to previous studies entitled “Antibacterial Potential of the Aqueous and Organic Extracts of Bixa orellana L.” conducted by P. Sumathi and A. Parvathi and “Antibacterial activity of Bixa orellana L. (achiote) against Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis” by Dyanne Medina Flores, Gabriela Ulloa-Urizar, et.al., B.orellana (achuete) has proven to have an antibacterial property against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Stuart exchange states that the leaves of B.orellana (achuete) has an antibacterial or anti-staphylococcal activity and a wound healing activity. The tannin constituent, which was said to be present based on previous phytochemical screening in another study, provides the wound healing activity of B.orellana

Bixaceae. This includes collection of plant sample from San Jose, Batangas. It aims to determine the wound healing property of tannin extract from the leaves of Bixa Orellana (achuete). The researchers are going to conduct physical (organoleptic tests), chemical tests (ferric chloride, gelatin, bromine water, lead acetate, copper sulfate) and instrumental test (FTIR). The comparative difference is compared with the positive control using Mupirocin. Tannin extracts which are collected from the leaves of B. Orellana (achuete) is then formulated as a cream.

Hypothesis

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the leaf tannin extract from Bixa Orellana (achuete) in wound healing. The following are the following outcomes of the study:

Ho: There is no significant difference between the wound healing property from the leaf tannin cream of Bixa orellana and Mupirocin cream (Positive control).

HA: There is a significant difference between the wound healing property from the leaf tannin cream of Bixa orellana and Mupirocin cream (Positive