The effects of Arnebia euchroma ointment on second-degree burn wounds: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Ethnobotanical relevance: Burn injuries can cause detrimental long-term consequences and call for immediate management. Avicenna's Canon of Medicine, describing the use of Abu-Khalsa (Arnebia euchroma) (AE) as being effective for burn healing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the healing effects of AE ointment (AEO) on patients with a second-degree burn wound and compare its results with silver sulfadiazine cream (SSD).

Materials and methods: In this prospective, single-blind clinical trial, 45 patients with similar types of second-degree burns at two different sites of the body were randomly assigned to the two treatment groups. One burn wound site of the patient was treated with SSD and another similar burn wound site with AEO once a day until complete healing was achieved. Wound size and percentage of wound healing were evaluated at 15 days. Satisfaction, clinical adverse events such as pain, burning, warming, erythema, edema, infection, inflammation, and general wound area were assessed on a visual analogue scales, and 6-point scales.

Results: The healing time was significantly shorter in the site treated with AEO than SSD (13.9±5.3 vs. 17.5±6.9 days, respectively). The severity of pain and burning were reduced in the AEO site compared with SSD site at the time of dressing change, while the warming score was significantly higher in the AEO wound area. Side-effects were lower in the site treated with AEO.

Conclusion: In this clinical study, we demonstrated that AEO has benefits over SSD in the treatment of second-degree burn wounds and wound healing and is a viable medication for the management of second-degree burns.

Keywords: Arnebia euchroma; Burns; Pain; Silver sulfadiazine; Wound healing.