The Role of Nutrition and Edible Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Chronic Wounds Based on the Principles of Iranian Traditional Medicine

BACKGROUND Skin is the body's first defense against stressful factors. Skin wounds are caused by the loss of connection in the skin and recovery requires cellular and biochemical reactions. Chronic wounds arise from the lack of physiological processes and the disease due to complications (e.g. infection and amputation) has devastating consequences on societies. According to the principles of Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), these disorders can be treated in a step-by-step procedure. METHODS This is a systematic review study that involved gathering data from three traditional medical textbooks, namely Canon of Medicine, Tib-e-Akbari and Exir-e-Azam with the keyword "chronic wound" or "ghorha". In the next step, few tables were developed for nutrition measures as well as edible and topical medicinal herbs. Electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane library were searched for relevant articles and those related to effective medicinal herbs in the treatment of wounds were obtained. RESULTS Depending on appearance and secretions, wounds are divided into two categories, namely simple and compound wounds. The prognostic factors are based on the age, weight, accompanied disease, as well as the quality and quantity of the wound secretions. Wound treatments include medical nutrition therapy, edible medications, and manipulation therapies. Patient's diet is very important and oral medications have a major role in the whole body detoxification. Topical medications are used together with the above-mentioned treatments; noting that without detoxification, these medications are not effective entirely. CONCLUSION Wound healing requires physiological processes within the body. From the perspective of ITM, body detoxification is the first medical step, after which topical medications could lead to a better wound healing result.