Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> Background Chronic and acute wounds impose a formidable global health burden. <italic>Michelia champaca</italic> Linn. (Magnoliaceae), widely distributed across tropical Asia, is ethnomedicinally valorised for wound management and anti-inflammatory applications, yet rigorous pharmacological substantiation remains incomplete. Objective To perform comprehensive phytochemical characterization, Total phenolic content (TPC), Total flavonoid content (TFC), DPPH antioxidant activity, TLC, and HPTLC fingerprinting of aqueous (AEMC) and ethanolic (EEMC) leaf extracts of <italic>M. champaca</italic> , and to evaluate wound healing efficacy of their formulated herbal ointments in a validated in vivo model. Methods Leaf powder was extracted via Soxhlet apparatus (distilled water, 95% ethanol). Physicochemical standardization followed WHO guidelines. TPC was quantified by Folin–Ciocalteu assay (mg GAE/g), TFC by aluminium chloride colorimetry (mg QE/g), and antioxidant capacity by DPPH radical scavenging. HPTLC fingerprinting employed a Toluene:EthylAcetate:FormicAcid:Methanol (3:6:1.6:0.4) system. Herbal ointments (2% w/w, fusion method) were evaluated in a 10 mm biopsy punch excision wound model in male Albino Wistar rats (n = 5/group) over 14 days, benchmarked against Povidone-Iodine (10% w/w). Data were analysed by two-way ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test (p < 0.01). Results EEMC exhibited superior TPC (494.85 ± 18.40 mg GAE/g) and DPPH inhibition (72.36 ± 6.41%) versus AEMC (86.39 ± 3.43 mg GAE/g; 51.14 ± 8.22%). HPTLC confirmed rutin (0.175–0.225%) and caffeic acid (0.086–0.093%) in both extracts. EEOMC achieved 100% wound closure by Day 12, comparable to the standard, while AEOMC completed closure by Day 14 (p < 0.0001 vs. control). Conclusion <italic>M.champaca</italic> leaf extracts demonstrate potent wound healing activity attributable to their phenolic–flavonoid constituents. The ethanolic formulation represents a promising botanical wound care candidate warranting further mechanistic and histopathological validation. </p>