Herbs with Acute Wound Healing Potential: A Review

Abstract

Wound healing is a timely and orderly process comprised of coagulation, inflamma- tion, proliferative, and remodeling. Any disrup- tion in the physiological process will delay the healing process and result in chronic wounds. Wound cleansing is the standard management for acute wounds to provide an optimal envi- ronment for healing. Besides wound cleansers, topical antimicrobials are commonly used to re- duce microbial load and prevent microbial infec- tion. However, they are associated with adverse reactions and antibiotic resistance, resulting in delayed wound healing. To overcome the lim- itations of conventional wound treatment, herb- al therapy as an alternative is implemented for wound management with antimicrobial, anti-in- flammatory, and antioxidant properties. Follow- ing the increased demands of herbal therapy in wound management, the innovative polyherbal formulation has gained popularity and has been extensively studied to promote better wound healing. The combined use of multiple herbs is comparatively cost-effective in providing syn- ergistic effects with minimal side effects. This review provides insight into the role and mech- anism of diverse medicinal plants with wound healing potential for acute wound management.