Medicinal plants and their natural components as future drugs for the treatment of burn wounds: an integrative review

Abstract

Burn wound healing is a complicated process including inflammation, re-epithelialization, granulation, neovascularization and wound contraction. Several biochemicals are involved in burn healing process including antioxidants, cytokines and liver and kidney damage biomarkers. Although several preparations are available for the management of burn wound, there is still a necessity of researching for efficacious medicine. The aim of the present study was to evaluate herbal preparations and their phytochemical constituents for burn wound management. For this purpose, electronic databases including Pubmed, Scirus, Scopus and Cochrane library were searched from 1966 to July 2013 for in vitro, in vivo or clinical studies which examined the effect of any herbal preparation on different types of burn wound. Only 3 human studies were found to include in this review. In contrast, there were 62 in vivo and in vitro studies that show the need for more clinical trials to prove the plant's potential to cure burn wound. Among single herbal preparations, Allium sativum, Aloe vera, Centella asiatica and Hippophae rhamnoides showed the best burn wound healing activity. Flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins and phenolic compounds were active constituents present in different herbs facilitating wound closure. Glycosides including madecassoside and asiaticoside and proteolytic enzymes were among the main active components. Phytochemicals represented positive activity at different stages of burn wound healing process by various mechanisms including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, collagen synthesis stimulation, cell proliferative and angiogenic effect. Overall, several herbal medicaments have shown marked activity in the management of wounds-especially burn wounds-and therefore can be considered as an alternative source of treatment. Furthermore, various natural compounds with verified burn-induced wound healing potential can be assumed as future natural drugs.

Wound-Healing potential of Sebastiania hispida (Mart.) Pax (Euphorbiaceae) ointment compared to low power laser in rats

“…The effectiveness of S. hispida can be justified due important to secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids and tannins, which have already demonstrated their antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties (Bahramsoltani et al, 2014;Scur et al, 2016). Published data demonstrate that pharmacological activity of S. hispida species reduces the inflammatory process induced by crude venom injection of Bothrops moojeni (Dourado et al, 2012).…”

The wound healing effect of <i>Iris forentina</i> on full thickness excisional skin wounds: A histomorphometrical study

“…The potential of plant flavonoids and other hydrophilic natural compounds, some of which are found in I. florentina as well as xanthones and isoflavones, for the treatment of various skin disorders and skin injuries, carcinomas, aging, and etc. has been reported in previous studies; moreover, I. florentina extract also showed anti-oxidant activity (Hamedi et al, 2013;Modeer et al, 2000;Gangwar et al, 2014;Bahramsoltani et al, 2014). IF is rich in polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyans with high anti-oxidant action which is involved in anti-aging properties other than the skin healing effects (Mukherjee et al, 2011;Kumar et al, 2007).…”

Effect of Amygdalus eburnea on third degree burns in rats and comparison with silver sulfadiazine ointment

“…Burn is tissue injury caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, radiation, etc. According to the depth, burn wounds are categorized as first degree (superficial), second degree (partial thickness), and third degree (full thickness) [3]. Dressing is required to protect against the environmental flora and evaporative heat loss and accentuate the healing period because thermal injury disrupts the protective barrier function of skin.…”

“…Wound healing is a complex process including many physiological actions and responses, requiring the collaborative effects of different cells and tissues [6]. Severe burn wounds must be treated rapidly since any delay may cause infection or postpone the healing process [3]. Most of the early treatments include topical application of medicaments are necessary to prevent infections [7].…”

“…Medicinal plants can act as wound healing agents because of their vast variety of different constituents such as alkaloids, tannins, terpenoids, essential oils, saponins, flavonoids, fatty acids, and phenolic compounds [16], which have the capability to improve healing process of burn wound. Low cost, availability and fewer side effects such as allergy and drug resistance are other advantages of herbal remedies [3,17,18].…”