30.1

Introduction

Dressing of a wound is very essential for its faster healing because it maintains the

moisture level of any wound, protect the wound from microbes and dust, and deliver

biologically active molecules to the wound site to accelerate the healing (Biswas

et al. 2018a). The polymeric dressing materials draw huge attention of scientists

because of their advantages as a carrier of drug molecules and growth factors

(Kazunori et al. 1993; Price et al. 2006). They are capable to improve the stability

of biologically active (BA) molecules and solubility of BA molecules. The worst

part of wound management is to change the wound dressing frequently because it not

only increases pain, swelling, and discharge but also delays the healing by damaging

the healthy new tissues (Price et al. 2006). A new dressing material needs to be

designed considering all these major issues. Further, the developed dressing material

should be cheap in price, flexible in nature and easily detachable from the wound site

without harming the newly grown tissues. Synthetic drugs, especially antibiotic-

loaded dressing materials, are being used in wound management throughout the

world for a long time (Chouhan et al. 2017). But, they have some serious issues like

side effects, multidrug resistance, etc. that increase complications along with medi-

cal expenses which increase concerns of common people. Nowadays, the herbal

products, plant extractions and traditional medicines have attracted great attentions

of the researchers as a potential alternative of modern medicines (Sridhar et al.

2015). From the ancient age, different parts of plants are being used in wound

management which have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties (Hammer

et al. 1999; Friedman 2015; Dorman and Deans 2000). The alkaloids, flavonoids,

terpenoids and phenolics are the possible extract from plants. The use of various

strategies to fight against pathogens includes disruption of cell walls, complex

formation with cell membrane, substrate deprivation and enzyme inhibition

(Cowan 1999).

Moisture level of a wound is another important factor which can decide the

healing rate of any wound. The healing rate decreased in presence of both the excess

moisture or under dry condition. Hence, to maintain the adequate moisture level at

wound site is very essential for triggering healing of the wound by enhancing the

epithelialization of superficial wounds. Scientists design different types of occlusive

dressing materials to maintain the proper moisture environment over the wounds

(Winter 1962; Hinman and Maibach 1963). Hydrogels and soft physiological tissues

are widely used as wound dressing materials and are available in the market for

advance wound management. Hydrogels have very similar physicochemical

properties, viz. mechanical strength, low interfacial tension to body, air permeability,

water content, etc. (Blanco et al. 1996) and are capable to release water soluble drugs

in a sustained and controlled manner following the appropriate diffusion mechanism

(Shivakumar et al. 2006). Further, the morphological advantages of electrospun

scaffold attracted the attention of researchers. The porous structure with very high

surface area of electrospun scaffolds allows it to mimic the extracellular matrix

(ECM) and facilitates the cell migration, water evaporation, exudate drainage and air

permeation (Heydarkhan-Hagvall et al. 2008; Han and Gouma 2006; Schneider et al.

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