Wound Healing, the Vedic Way

As is becoming increasingly evident from modern day medical breakthroughs, the use of traditional medicines is in developing new and effective drugs is an integral part of medical research. In August 1994, a meeting of the European Tissue Repair Society was held at the Radcliffe Hospital in England to discuss the impact of traditional medications from the developing world on wound healing in modern western medicine. This meeting was attended by representatives from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, China, Syria, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. Similar meetings have been held in many parts of the world, including India, to discuss the importance of traditional medicine on wound healing.

Ayurveda, the traditional medical system of India, mentions the use of several plants for wound healing.

Some of the plants that are mentioned include the Sunflower plant (Helianthus annus), the Garcinia morella, the Jasmina auriculatum, and the Vernonia cineria. The use of these plants has been described in detail by the Idnian surgeon Sushruta in 600 BC.

Modern day tests that have been carried out on these plants have encouraging results. An extract of the Helianthus annus prepared with Vaseline has demonstrated significant wound healing properties. The substance Morellin which is obtained from plant Garcinia morella has also been successfully used to heal wounds in animals. Fresh juice of the Jasmina auriculatum has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of eye ulcers.

The need of the hour is to carry out proper controlled clinical tests to verify the effectiveness of these plant extracts in wound healing on humans. Once the data from these tests has been obtained, the next logical step will be the production of salves and ointments based on these plant extracts.

Submitted on January 16, 2014