Use of Some Asteraceae Plants for the Treatment of Wounds: From Ethnopharmacological Studies to Scientific Evidences

Abstract

Severe wounds result in large lesions and/or loss of function of the affected areas. The treatment of wounds has challenged health professionals due to its complexity, especially in patients with chronic diseases (such as diabetes), and the presence of pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Taking this into consideration, the development of new therapies for wound healing requires immediate attention. Ethnopharmacological studies performed in different countries have shown the use of several plants from the Asteraceae family as wound-healing agents. Evidences gained from the traditional medicine have opened new ways for the development of novel and more efficient therapies based on the pharmacological properties of these plants. In this article, we discuss the literature data on the use of Asteraceae plants for the treatment of wounds, based on the ethnopharmacological relevance of each plant. Special attention was given to studies showing the mechanisms of action of Asteraceae-derived compounds and clinical trials. Ageratina pichinchensis (Kunth) R.M. King and H. Rob. and Calendula officinalis L. preparations/compounds were found to show good efficacy when assessed in clinical trials of complicated wounds, including venous leg ulcers and foot ulcers of diabetic patients. The compounds silibinin [from Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.] and jaceosidin (from Artemisia princeps Pamp.) were identified as promising compounds for the treatment of wounds. Overall, we suggest that Asteraceae plants represent important sources of compounds that may act as new and efficient healing products.

Keywords: Ageratina pichinchensis; Calendula officinalis; drug development; ethnomedicine; jaceosidin; silibinin.

FIGURE 1

Overview of the essential stages of wound healing. There are four fundamental stages involved in wound healing: the immediate response (1), inflammation (2), proliferation (3), and wound closure (4).

FIGURE 2

Summarized representation of the in vivo actions of silibinin (from Silybum marianum) in wound healing. Group A: mice treated with a gel base (controls). Group B: mice treated with a commercially available gel (Mega Heal gel; Aristo Pharmaceuticals Ltd.; positive control). Group C: mice treated with a silibinin-based gel (0.2% w/w). After 14 days of treatment, the mean sizes of the wounds from mice of groups B and C were smaller than those of group A.

FIGURE 3

Summarized representations of in vitro and in vivo techniques used for evaluating the healing potentials of plant-derived compounds. (A) In in vitro assays, the cytotoxic and proliferative effects of a compound/extract can be evaluated toward different cell cultures (such as human umbilical vascular cells). Their proliferative effects can be analyzed through the scratch wound closure assay. Compounds with promising results can be selected for ex vivo and in vivo models. (B) A simple in vivo model using chick Chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). In this assay, the damaged CAM is treated with the selected compound (applied into a disk), and after few days, the neovascularization is measured.