Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy of an Ayurvedic Ointment against Acute Burn Injury in Wistar Rats

Abstract

Skin burn is a common health problem that needs a fast and accurate treatment; else, it can have a worse prognosis. The available treatment options pose limitations due to their adverse effects; thus there is an urgent need to find newer treatment options for burn wound healing that can provide a safer and faster treatment option. Ayurveda gives a plethora of medicinal plants and their formulations which have been used in the management of burn wound. The Ayurvedic ointment formulated in this experiment utilizes essential ayurvedic ingredients which are known for their burn wound healing potential. The current work includes the formulation of the Ayurvedic ointment, its standardization, toxicity and efficacy study. The Ayurvedic ointment was formulated by fusion method, and its physicochemical characterization ensures the purity of the compounds used for the formulation. The ointment formulated is well set under the safety parameters for the presence of heavy metals and also free from microbial and fungal contamination. It has obtained optimum spreadability and viscosity, making it desirable for application on wounds. In the acute dermal toxicity study, it has shown no adverse effect on the animals as there were no significant changes in the body weight and feed intake and water consumption, thus confirming it as a safe formulation. It has shown significant rate of wound healing and period of re-epithelization in the Wistar rat model. It can be a potential ointment for burn wound treatment, and in future, it can be considered for clinical studies to validate its safety and efficacy in humans.