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Wound Healing and Indigenous Drugs: Role as Antioxidants: A Review

B Somashekar Shetty

Traditional medicine, especially herbal medicine has recently been receiving heightened interest all over the world. Man from the very beginning has been aware of the health problems and has been taking care of health through diet and drugs for which plants were used extensively. Molecular oxygen plays a central role in the pathogenesis and therapy of chronic wounds. When reactive oxygen species are overproduced, oxidative stress results in detrimental cytotoxic effects causing delayed wound healing. Therefore, elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) could be an important strategy to improve healing of chronic wounds. Currently therapeutic strategies targeting reactive oxygen species (ROS) by antioxidants are being introduced into the treatment of chronic wounds. Natural compounds from medicinal plants having antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities are used as therapeutic agents. Indian medicinal plants with these activities have been identified and their antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects have been reviewed.