Hibiscus Sabdariffa Topical Extract Ointment Inhibits Inflammatory Signals and Exhibits Antibacterial Activity on the Rat Burn Injury: Emerging Approach for New Application in the Superficial Burn Care

Abstract Wound healing comprises organized events involving tissue repair and regeneration. The discovery of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) sheds recent light on the mechanisms involved in initiating inflammatory responses throughout the healing cascades. Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) components may exhibit a wound healing action owing to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This study designed to investigate the effect of HS loaded in an ointment base on the rat burn model compared to that of the standard Iruxol® ointment. A burn injury model was used to evaluate the wound healing potency of the preparation. Rats were treated with ointments three times through 24 hrs. Findings revealed that strong antioxidant property of the HS-loaded ointment augmented the skin healing potential by stimulating biomarkers required for skin regeneration. HS repressed the burning-induced inflammation by the effective reduction in the levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-6 through TLR4 protein inhibition. Topical HS inhibited hypertrophic scarring by downregulating transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) levels. HS extract possesses a potential bactericidal activity against highly resistant clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Altogether, study proclaims that HS-loaded topical preparations could be a valuable product that serve as adjuvants to accelerate burn wound healing through inactivating the TLR4 pathway.