Therapeutic Aspects of Bamboo for Wound Healing

Abstract

Bamboo has been an integral part of the traditional medicinal system worldwide. Traditionally, almost every part of bamboo has been used for medicinal purposes to treat skin infections, joint pains, bleeding gums, injuries, fever, and many more. Pastes of tender bamboo shoots are applied to injuries and skin infections. Bamboo is used in Ayurveda for paralytic complaints, inflammatory disorders, and external skin disorders. Several bioactive compounds like phenols, phytosterols, and flavonoids are present in young bamboo shoots and leaves which have putative health benefits and show antioxidative, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. Several drugs derived from plants are described in Ayurveda as possessing wound-healing properties. B. vulgaris is used for skin problems in Trinidad and Tobago. The tribes of Raisen, Madhya Pradesh use leaves and stems of bamboo to treat skin injuries topically. Several bamboo extracts of leaves and shoots show potential anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties. Antioxidants have been reported to play a substantial role in improving the wound-healing process and protecting tissues against oxidative damage. Flavonoids are known to promote the wound-healing process due to their antimicrobial properties, which appear to be responsible for wound contraction and increased rate of epithelialisation. P. edulis leaf extract has shown a potential role in preventing inflammation in persistent inflammatory conditions. Ethanolic extract of D. asper leaves has shown antimicrobial and anti-diarrhoeagenic properties, which is an important clinical aspect in wound-healing. Diabetes mellitus-associated impaired wound-healing severely affects patients’ life quality, leading to prolonged hospitalisation and lower limb amputations. Herbal medicines and plant extracts are used by about 80% population around the world for primary health care as they show efficacy, safety, cultural acceptability, and lesser side effects. Natural accelerators of cutaneous tissue repair with simultaneous anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities are of great interest for various dermatological disorders, and bamboo is one of the potential plants.