Nowadays, plants have been considered as powerful agents for treatment of disorders regarding to their traditional use. In Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM), plants have a special role in the treatment of various diseases. Burns with their devastating outcomes have been discussed in ITM as well. In the present study, a polyherbal ointment (PHO), retrieved from ITM, was formulated for burn healing and it's HPTLC fingerprint was prepared. Aqueous extracts of Malva sylvestris and Solanum nigrum leaves and oily extract of Rosa damascena petals (4.85%, 4.85% and 33%, respectively) were added to white beeswax, eucerin and white petrolatum as ointment base. In addition to the microbiological tests, physical stability and rheological behavior of the product were assessed. Fingerprinting of phytochemical constituents of PHO was performed by using silica gel plates and toluene: ethyl acetate: acetic acid (60:40:1) and ethyl acetate: formic acid: acetic acid: water (100:11:11:10) as mobile phases. The results showed that PHO was stable towards physical changes and successfully passed microbiological tests. Moreover, PHO exhibited plastic behavior which is in favor of a topical burn product. In addition, HPTLC fingerprinting of PHO demonstrated the presence of several phenolic constituents corresponding to the plant extracts. Regarding to the role of phenolic compounds in wound healing process, PHO could be an appropriate candidate for burn healing with respect to its traditional use in ITM. Moreover, HPTLC fingerprinting could be utilized as an applicable method for quality control of the prepared formulation.
Keywords: Burns; HPTLC fingerprinting; Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM); Malva sylvestris; Rosa damascene; Solanum nigrum.