Abstract
Skin is the largest organ of the body, which serves as the first line of defense
mechanism by providing a passive physical barrier against infection. The damage to
this protective barrier due to burn wound may lead to discomfort, infection, prolonged
hospitalization and increased risk of amputation. The healing of skin wounds is very
complex and involves many spontaneous processes, namely inflammation,
proliferation, maturation, and re-epithelization. The different phases of wound healing
consist of fibroblast-induced fibroplasia, vessel endothelial cell-involved angiogenesis,
proliferation of epithelial cells, and deposition of connective tissue with overall
contraction of the wound. Indeed, poor wound healing in patients with some disease
conditions such as diabetes, ischemia, and immuno-suppression increases the risk of
infections and complicates the situation. A vascular wound bed provides an ideal
environment for the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is the reason that 75% of deaths are related to burn
injury infections. Various researches have made attempts to explore specific
therapeutics that can facilitate the wound healing process and prevent chronic wound
complications. The herbs contain several active constituents, and the use of these
phytomedicines in expediting healing is, therefore, strongly suggested. The
preclinical/clinical findings of these phytomedicines (such as berberine, bromelain,
silymarin, madecassoside, resveratrol, epigallocatechin, and curcumin, etc.) suggested
significant healing activity against burn wound but possessed various limitations,
which includes low aqueous solubility, photodegradation, and chemical instability
making its use challenging in clinical practice. In addition, the topical wound healing
effects of these phytomedicines are hampered due to their low skin permeability. In
order to overcome these shortcomings, various researchers have developed
phytomedicines containing nanoformulations exploiting nanotechnology to enhance its cutaneous bioavailability and augment wound healing activity. This book chapter aims
to overview the various phytomedicines, their nanoformulations design and
applicability in various forms to enhance the bioavailability/efficacy in burn wound
healing.
Keywords: Burn wound Healing, Clinical, Re-epithelisation, Nanoformulations, Nanotechnology, Phytomedicines, Photodegradation, Stability, Topical Delivery.
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