Antimicrobial and Immunomodulatory Activity of Herb Extracts Used in Burn Wound Healing: “San Huang Powder”

Abstract

“San Huang Powder,” a nonsterile milled herb powder, is frequently used to treat burn wounds in traditional Chinese herbal medicine. However, treating a wound with a nonsterile dressing or reagent is not compatible with the current guidelines in modern medicine. Therefore, we investigated the bactericidal and anti-inflammatory activities of four herb extracts used in “San Huang Powder” in vitro. Meanwhile, an in vivo porcine model with superficial second-degree burns was used for the experiments since the size and skin composition of pigs are the closest to that of the human body. The minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the herb extracts was determined. The in vitro assay indicated that Rhubarb and Phellodendron bark extracts decreased the levels of inflammatory cytokines, IL-8, and GM-CSF on LPS-induced HMEC-1 cells. In accordance with this result, the histopathological evaluation results showed that the efficacy of “San Huang Powder” containing both herb materials was much better than the group without Rhubarb. Our results not only provide a basis to understand why “San Huang Powder” has been used to clinically treat wounds without sterilization directly since ancient times but also show the advantages of using multiple herb materials simultaneously on wound sites to prevent infection during treatment. Rhubarb is the recommended ingredient involved in the preparation of “San Huang Powder” to ensure the healing efficacy of burn wounds.

The Effects of Phellodendron Decoction on Wound Healing of Anal Fistula after Anal Fistulotomy

“…Not only can the drug itself reduce wound exudation but it can also promote other drugs to be absorbed through the skin. Wu et al [ 24 ] used Phellodendron to treat burn wounds and proved that it could prevent infection during treatment. Phellodendron can activate the TGF- β signaling pathway and increase the expression of collagen during wound healing [ 25 ].…”

Anti-Biofilm Enzymes-Assisted Antibiotic Therapy against Burn Wound Infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…In combination with traditional antibiotic treatments, honey ( 29 ), herbal products ( 30 , 31 ), phage application ( 32 – 34 ), synthetic immunomodulators ( 35 ), photodynamic therapy ( 36 ), and antibacterial materials ( 9 , 37 , 38 ) have been used to treat scald infections caused by P. aeruginosa . All these treatment options have been reported to reduce the damage caused by the infection as well as the mortality rate.…”

Role of Herbal Extracts of Catechu from Uncaria gambir in the Treatment of Chronic Diabetic Wounds

“…Reverse transcription was performed using the MMLV Reverse Transcription Kit (Protech Technology Enterprise Co., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan). All the experimental steps were carefully performed according to the manufacturer’s instructions [ 36 ]. The levels of β-actin mRNA were used to normalize the mRNA expression levels of the target genes.…”

“…WS1 and HaCaT cells (4 × 10 4 /well) were seeded in 24-well plates and mixed with different concentrations of catechu extract for 24 h. Adherent cells were dissociated from the surface by treatment with 0.5% trypsin for 2–5 min. The number of cells was counted using a hemocytometer [ 36 ].…”