Natural Products for Skin Diseases: A Treasure Trove for Dermatologic Therapy

Our interaction with the sun is still equivocal, to say the least. We like its soothing influence on the body and soul, but we are afraid of its highly hazardous heating ability and the long-term skin damage that can emerge from chronic sun exposure. Scientists are consistently seeking to enhance sunblock products in accordance with a need for better skin protection from the sun. Once human skin is exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR), the synthesis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) skyrockets. The influx of ROS leads to oxidative stress by mutating the natural equilibrium toward a pro-oxidative state. Alteration in proteins and lipids, stimulation of inflammation, immunodeficiency, DNA damage, and activation of signaling pathways that influence gene transcription, cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis are all illustrations of the detrimental effects of oxidative stress. This chapter provides new insight into several Phyto-products having an antioxidant activity to suppress the UV rays impact, the relationship between UVR-aging, current understanding of the regulation of constitutive human skin pigmentation and responses to UV radiation, with emphasis on physiological factors that influence those processes.

Burns are a type of skin injury that occurs due to close contact with a heat source or corrosive chemicals. The use of natural products to treat burns dates back to ancient civilizations. This chapter discusses naturally derived products from plants, animals and fungi sources. The natural origin, chemical composition, burn healing mechanisms, clinical studies, and used pharmaceutical formulation are also covered. 

Wound healing is quite a complicated process in the human body, consisting of the action of constricting injured blood vessels, activating the immune system, angiogenesis, remodeling, etc. Under intensive mechanical stress, a fibrotic scar, which is unfavorable with respect to the beauty of the skin, can be formed to patch the wound. Moreover, chronic wounds due to the disruption in wound healing are another clinical problem for patients with diabetes or vascular diseases. Of note is that natural remedies, especially natural products, are demonstrated to elicit certain positive effects on many aspects of wound healing. In this chapter, global mechanisms, the role of natural remedies and newly emerging therapeutic targets regarding wound healing are presented, and the remaining hurdle for the natural product-based treatment in wound healing is also introduced.

The skin is one of the most important organs of the human body. Dermatological ailments and pathologies are important for public health because they cause physical damage and emotional and psychological repercussions that sometimes present high healthcare expenses. Some of the most common pathologies are eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, pyoderma, scabies, tinea capitis, dermatitis, reactions of poisonous insect or reptile bites hives, pigmentary anomalies such as vitiligo, albinism, tinea versicolor, melasma, acanthosis nigricans, and café au Lait spots, such others, can cause serious damage to health, for which extensive pharmacological treatments have been proposed; however, they have serious side effects such as steroid treatments, so in certain regions of the world, medicinal plants are used to treat dermatological complications, where ethnopharmacological records date to treat or aid skin conditions, mainly burns and scars. These effects are due to their anti-inflammatory, healing, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, where the compounds most studied have been phenolic (flavonoids such as phloretin), vitamins, and essential oils (terpenes). Some species that stand out are the genera Dendrobium, Aloe, Acalypha, Acanthus, Achillea, Actinidia, Calendula, Bulbine, Heparinum, Sanguisorba, and Buddleja, among others. This chapter summarizes the most recent information regarding the potential of natural products as biopharmaceutical agents against some of the most evaluated skin pigmentary anomalies.

Scabies is a chronic and serious community disorder caused by a parasite commonly known as a mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var hominis). The long-term infection may lead to chronic complications such as septicemia, acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, heart disease, and secondary infections. The majority of novel medicinal agents from various plant sources are responsible for the management and treatment of several types of chronic disorders. The safe and cost-effective alternative treatment strategy is the use of medicinal plants that plays a potential role against a variety of diseases due to the presence of numerous types of active phytochemicals with no or negligible adverse effect. This study gives a unique summary, including a correlation between traditional medicinal plants and their derived active phytochemicals for the significant treatment of scabies. The literature search was carried out via search engines through different databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, etc. A large number of medicinal plants and their active medicinal agents have been reviewed with remarkable therapeutic effects against scabies. There are some limitations due to insufficient data related to limited pre-clinical and clinical trials in this particular area. This review provides a baseline to explore the therapeutic potential of these medicinal plants against skin diseases, especially scabies. However, extensive studies are required to identify, authenticate, and characterize the bioactive compounds present in these plants, which may lead to value addition in pharmaceutical industries by providing a cost-effective way of treatment with minimal side effects.

Numerous concerns have been raised on the side effects of the prolonged usage of synthetic compounds in cosmetics production, including skin damage due to inflammations, rashes, and itching, just to mention a few. These skin side effects have been reported to be linked to the break-down of homeostasis of the repair system against deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and tissue destruction. These can lead to accelerated aging, melanogenesis, and cell growth senescence or even cause cancer of the skin. Efforts to overcome these problems associated with synthetic cosmetics have led to the use of natural cosmetics of plant and animal origin. Natural cosmetics have been found to contain essential oils and other extracts that can alleviate or inhibit skin-associated problems, such as eczema, allergy, acne, dryness, and discoloration, while also containing anti-aging, anti-tyrosinase, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory substances. In this chapter, some cosmetics products from plants (herbs) and animal extraction are highlighted alongside their applications in skin care. At the same time, also, the future perspectives and recommendations of these natural extracts are proffered. 

Some synthetic drugs are usually associated with side effects, while natural products may be characterized by poor solubility and/or stability. The application of nanoparticles, cutting across all human utilities with drug development is no exception. Skin disease treatment is one aspect of medicine that is so distinct in the sense that treatment usually involves topical application involving eventual absorption onto the skin surface. The use of nanoparticles has proven to be an effective way to solve the issues with the use of natural products in skin care and treatment. This effectiveness has been shown to be due to efficacy in the properties of these natural products, including solubility, stability, permeability, toxicity, side effects, the release of active ingredients-and biocompatibility. This section examines the role of nanosized natural products in treating skin disorders.