The literature on the use of medicinal plants in wound healing was comprehensively searched to obtain and assess the data. The data were procured via clinical studies that utilized medicinal plants and their compounds in vitro and in vivo for wound healing. This review collected data from electronic databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, SciFinder, Thesis, and Scopus, using the search terms “natural products”, “wound healing”, and “natural compounds”, along with the keywords “plants”, “extracts”, and “phytochemicals”. Results from the last decade reveal a total of 62 families and 109 genera of medicinal plants, and their compounds have been studied experimentally both in vivo and in vitro and clinically found to effectively promote healing. This activity is related to the presence of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, and phenolic compounds, which act at different stages through different mechanisms to exert anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant effects, confirming that the use of medicinal plants could be an adequate alternative to current conventional practices for treating wounds.

Background/Objective: Bougainvillea x buttiana of the Nyctagenaceae family is widely used in traditional Mexican medicine for treating different diseases. This study was planned to estimate the healing effect of the acetonic extract obtained from Bougainvillea x buttiana (var. Rose). Methods: The bracts with flowers were subjected to extraction using maceration and concentrated in vacuo. Fractionation with a similar profile resulted in 11 fractions, which were determined using TLC. A mouse wound excision model was tested to evaluate the wound healing effect of the topical treatment pre-formulated with fractions of acetonic extract, which were determined using image analysis techniques. Cytokine levels present in the sera of mice treated or not treated with the acetonic extract were determined using the ELISA method. Results: The results obtained showed that the crude acetonic extract of B. x buttiana and/or its fractions in a pre-formulated hydrogel had wound healing capacity. The wound contraction rate and the healing speed in groups of animals treated with the pre-formulated crude extract and/or its fractions were significantly higher compared with the negative control (p < 0.001). Fraction 2 demonstrated more significant healing, reduced the production of cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α, and enhanced the levels of IL-10. Conclusion: The present study showed that the fractions obtained from the acetonic extract of B. x buttiana bracts were able to accelerate the wound healing process through anti-inflammatory mechanisms by regulating inflammatory cytokines. The results presented demonstrate that the extracts from B. x buttiana contain compounds that may be responsible for their healing properties.

Background: Bougainvillea species have been used in traditional Mexican medicine, but their bioactive compounds and mechanisms of action are insufficiently studied. This is the first comprehensive evaluation of fractions from the acetone extract of Bougainvillea × buttiana Holtum & Standl (var. Rose), combining phytochemical profiling with in vitro multitarget bioactivity assessment. Methods: Eleven fractions were analyzed for total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant capacity using the DPPH assay. The most active fractions were further tested for nitric oxide (NO) scavenging, protection of erythrocytes and bovine serum albumin (BSA) from oxidative damage, inhibition of enzymes involved in inflammation (PLA₂, COX, LOX) and carbohydrate metabolism (α-glucosidase, α-amylase, tyrosinase), cytoprotective effects in L929 fibroblasts exposed to hydrogen peroxide, and their main metabolites were qualitatively identified by HPLC-UV-Vis. Results: All fractions showed significant TPC and TFC and concentration-dependent antioxidant activity. The fractions with the highest antioxidant indices were F5, F7, and F9. These effectively scavenged NO, protected erythrocytes and L929 cells (maintaining viability at 82.0%, 75.6%, and 72.0%, respectively), and inhibited key enzymes. Seven major compounds, mainly flavonoids, were identified. Conclusions: These findings showed that flavonoid-enriched fractions from B. × buttiana exhibit coordinated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and cytoprotective effects, suggesting potential to treat oxidative stress-related disorders.

Background/Objectives: Bursera bipinnata (DC.) Engl. resin (locally known as “copal blanco”) is traditionally used in Mexican ethnomedicine to treat infected wounds and skin inflammation, but the bioactive constituents underlying these effects remain largely uncharacterized. This study aimed to identify the compounds responsible for the wound-healing properties of the resin through bioactivity-guided fractionation and to evaluate their anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities as complementary mechanisms supporting tissue repair. Methods: Crude resin (1.2–5.0 mg/mL) was assayed for anti-inflammatory activity in the TPA-induced ear-edema model in BALB/c mice, for antibacterial activity (MIC) against six clinically relevant strains, and for wound-healing activity in a murine excisional model with pirfenidone (PFD) as the reference drug (n = 5 per group). Bioactivity-guided fractionation followed by spectroscopic elucidation (¹H- and ¹³C-NMR, IR, EI-MS) led to the isolation of five constituents. Stigmasterol, the most active compound, was subsequently evaluated in an LPS-induced systemic inflammation model (oral administration, 20 mg/kg/day × 3 days) to characterize its immunomodulatory profile (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-10) and in the wound-healing model to quantify local IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-β1 in skin homogenates. Results: The crude resin (5.0 mg/mL) achieved 99.63% wound closure at day 12 and a 49.08% reduction in TPA-induced ear edema, comparable to indomethacin (55.76%). The resin displayed selective antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pyogenes (MIC 125 µg/mL) and Salmonella typhimurium (MIC 250 µg/mL). Bioactivity-guided fractionation yielded the phytosterol stigmasterol (1), three lupane-type triterpenoids (lupeol acetate (2), lupenone (3), 3-epilupeol (5)), and the sesquiterpenoid caryophyllene oxide (4). At an equimolar 1 µM concentration, stigmasterol (1) shortened the mean wound-healing time to 10.3 ± 0.4 days, comparable to pirfenidone, and was associated with attenuation of systemic TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 peaks and with sustained local IL-10 and TGF-β1 expression. Histological assessment confirmed accelerated re-epithelialization and improved collagen organization. The resin was non-irritant in the OECD 404 acute dermal test (Primary Irritation Index = 0.00). Conclusions: These findings provide pharmacological evidence supporting the traditional use of B. bipinnata resin for wound healing. Stigmasterol (1), together with the lupane-type triterpenoids lupenone (3) and 3-epilupeol (5), were identified as key bioactive constituents. The data are consistent with a coordinated immunomodulation, in which stigmasterol is associated with reduced systemic pro-inflammatory signalling and increased local IL-10/TGF-β1 expression, an interpretation that should be confirmed in chronic and impaired wound-healing models.