Abstract:
Burn injuries not only cause localized skin damage but also have several systemic
repercussions on the body. These alterations are unique to burn wounds and are
typically not seen in wounds from other traumas. Burn injuries show various systemic
effects which include renal failure, myocardial dysfunction, sympathetic stimulation,
and hypovolemia.
Being the fourth most common type of injury worldwide, burn wounds are still
understudied in Pakistan and demand top priority. Burn injuries remain the major cause
of detrimental morbidity and mortality while their management still poses a concern for
healthcare community. Currently, available commercial synthetic drugs like 1% Silver
Sulfadiazine (SSD) have various side effects including toxic epidermal necrolysis, skin
rashes, photosensitivity reactions, exfoliative dermatitis, & erythema nodosum, which
impedes successful burn treatment. We, therefore, proposed an herbal treatment,
containing 10% methanolic Aloe Vera extract formulated with 35% Clove bud oil in
Honey as an ointment base. This treatment induces effective healing with maximum
preservation of damaged tissue with minimum fibrosis and maximum wound
contraction. The albino rats were induced with consistent second-degree burn wounds
and were divided into three groups. Two of the groups were treated with herbal
formulation, and 1% SSD respectively, whereas the third group was not given any
treatment for the period of 21 days. The effective wound healing and wound contraction
in three groups was then studied over time through tissue histology, complete blood
profiling, and differential gene expression profiling.
Our results showed that the herbal formulation was 13.6% more effective as compared
to the commercially available 1% SSD and showed no cytotoxic effects. However
further investigation into the effect of herbal treatment and 1% SSD on the expression
profiles of DEGs is required. In conclusion, an herbal ointment containing Clove oil
and Aloe Vera has the potential to replace commercially available synthetic chemical
drugs for burn wound treatment.
