Mainstreaming Traditional Practices for Wound Management

Natural products and plant components have been in use since ancient times as topical applications for their wound healing potential. Wound care continues to evolve with upcoming medical advancements, but there are still many barriers in the research of the best wound healing agent and the dressing material that wound care practitioners encounter. When multidrug-resistant microbial species such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Enterococcus evolved and modern pharmaceutical technologies unsuccessful, wound care practitioners reworked the old healing approaches using complementary and alternative wound care remedies. There has been a rising awareness in the users with a positive understanding of traditional and alternative medicines. The idea of traditional care and related formulations for wound care was well known and this approach has been introduced into the mainstream to improve the healing of wounds. Numerous studies have been published using herbal and traditional approaches from different parts of the world for wound care and management. For instance, turmeric, aloe, cannabis, Picrorhiza kurroa, Shorea robusta, garlic, and honey have been used to great results in wound care treatment. Owing to their multidimensional activities, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and painkiller effects, natural compounds like curcumin, oleo gum resin of sal, picrosides, and many flavonoids have been reported to act effectively in the treatment of skin wounds and scar management. The therapeutic efficacy of these compounds has been established in various in vitro and in vivo studies using both animal and human models, evidenced from different research reports in the literature. Integration of traditional medicines and practices with the conventional treatment options for wound healing offers new solutions for skin disorders, enhances access to medical care and resolve other limitations associated with modern drugs and therapeutics, such as high costs, long manufacturing times and increasing resistance to bacteria.

This article highlights overall therapeutic aspects of wound management from ancient times to modern science with a wide range of attention to recover the wound healing practices. This article also focuses on the factors affecting mainstreaming of herbal and traditional drugs like developmental issues and validation along with the safety and efficacy related factors to put forth important future aspects.