Wound Healing – Jiwu Garab

Wound Care using Herbs

Wounds can result from burns, surgeries, trauma, and arterial disease.

For open wounds always follow these steps:

Apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.
Clean the wound with clean water and a saline solution once the bleeding has stopped.
Examine the wound for foreign objects and dirt.
Pat the wound dry with a clean cloth.
If possible, apply a disinfectant or antibiotic ointment to the wound to prevent infection.
Close the wound and apply an adhesive bandage or band-aid.

Read more on the background of Wound Healing & Wound Care

Herbals for Wound care

Aloe vera Applied to wounds for over 5000 years by Egyptians, Romans, indigenous peoples of Africa Asia, and the Americas, Aloe vera continues to be a first-line treatment for burns, ulcers, and surgical wounds.

Aloe vera contains many natural bioactive compounds, including pyrocatechol, saponins, acemannan, anthraquinones, glycosides, oleic acid, phytol, as well as simple and complex water-soluble polysaccharides. Acetone extracts from the leaves of Aloe vera exhibit stronger antimicrobial activity than alcohol and aqueous extracts. Gram-positive bacterial species appear to be more sensitive than Gram-negative species to Aloe vera. Compounds with known antimicrobial activity are saponins, acemannan, and anthraquinone derivatives.

Hydro-alcoholic extract of Aloe vera leaf decrease burn-healing time. The gel increases wound contraction, epithelialization, alignment, and organization of the regenerated scar tissue. It also decreases scar tissue size when compared with a control group. Furthermore, it also has antimicrobial and antifungal properties.

You can apply a thin layer of aloe vera gel to the wound area or dress the wound in a bandage soaked in aloe vera gel to help with healing.

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Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha) Myrrh, the resinous exudate produced by Commiphora myrrha has well-documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, analgesic activities. Medicinal applications of myrrh include the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, fractures, arthritis, obesity, parasitic infections, and as an anticoagulant. Myrrh has been used topically to clean wounds, reduce oedema, and provide pain relief.

Myrrh is commonly used in combination with other ingredients. Galehdari et al. showed that the combination of myrrh, Adiantum capillus-veneris, Aloe vera, and Lawsonia inermis, significantly improved wound healing in diabetic mice.

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) Cocos fruit has been shown to have positive effect on wound-healing process when its effect on epithelium cell thickening was observed by Zakaria et al in an animal study. In this study, fresh juice and aqueous extract of the plant were used and the length, color, and inflammatory aspects of the area around the wound were also examined. In another study, methanol extract of the fruit had antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus spp.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) The polyphenols from peels of were shown to increase fibroblast infiltration, collagen regeneration, vascularization, and epithelialization in the wound area of diabetic rats. This has been related to increasing hydroxyproline, nitric oxide production, and activity as well as elevation of transformin growth factor–β1, vascular endothelial growth factor, and epidermal growth factor in wound tissues. Its peel and fruit extract have shown anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the expression of pro-inflammatory proteins. The tannin-rich fractions, ellagitannins, phenolic acids are effective against Staphylococcus spp.

Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) Frankincense, a resinous extract from Boswellia sacra, is valued in Africa, India, and the Middle East for the treatment of trauma and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. It has also been reported that the boswellic acid acetate extracted from frankincense induces apoptosis and differentiation in melanoma and fibrosarcoma cells.

It moderates inflammation and accelerates the growth of organized granulation tissue and reepithelialization, thus reduces scar formation and improved skin tissue repair. Recently, Hou et al. further demonstrated that it reduced the time of wound closure in diabetic mice via direct effects on neovascularization.

Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) Green tea, an aqueous extract made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, is revered throughout Asia for its reputed health benefits. Centuries of anecdotal evidence has been experimentally validated by demonstrating that Camellia sinensis has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticarcinogenic, antiaging, antiobesity, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective activities.

The major component EGCG, stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes and is a potential antiscarring agent and was demonstrated to reduce keloid. Methanol extracts from Camellia sinensis reportedly increase fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis and improves wound healing by increasing angiogenesis in rats.