Abstract
Tamanu oil, derived from the nut of Calophyllum inophyllum L., has been traditionally used to treat various skin-related ailments. In recent years, this oil is increasingly gaining popularity as researchers continue to search for novel natural alternative therapies for various skin diseases. There have been a number of in vitro and in vivo studies investigating various skin-active properties of tamanu oil, and it has been proven to have potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, analgesic, and even wound-healing abilities. These properties make tamanu oil an especially interesting candidate for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). This multifaceted disease is marked by the disruption of the skin barrier function, chronic inflammation, and skin microbiome dysbiosis with limited treatment options, which is free from adverse events and inexpensive, making it desperate for a new treatment option. In this review, we examine previous in vitro and in vivo studies on AD-relevant pharmacological properties of tamanu oil in order to evaluate the potential of tamanu oil as a novel treatment option for AD.
Highlights
Natural products have long been explored as a potential source of novel treatments, and tamanu oil is no exception
Leguillier revealed that treatment with tamanu oil improved wound closure rate of keratinocytes represented through scratch assay up to 2.1 times compared to control, signifying its potential to be used as an active compound that may play a role in the proliferation stage of wound healing
While there is a lot of evidence supporting the possible use of tamanu oil to treat Atopic dermatitis (AD), to truly test this potential, appropriate in vitro and in vivo models of AD need to be developed
Summary
Natural products have long been explored as a potential source of novel treatments, and tamanu oil is no exception. We will review the pharmacological properties of tamanu oil and extracts derived from tamanu nuts, namely, its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, wound-healing, and antioxidant properties All of these activities are expected to be beneficial to alleviate symptoms that are common in atopic dermatitis patient. E prevalence of AD continues to rise globally, and the literature suggests that the incidence of AD in developing countries is starting to match that in developed countries [7, 8] While this disease affects up to 2.4% of the world’s population, despite its increasing prevalence and the burden that it poses to the global public health system, both our understanding of AD and the currently available treatments for AD are still limited. This review will discuss possible future directions for research in this field
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