# Natural Extracts in Skin Repair and Wound Healing: Phytochemical Mechanisms and Dermopharmaceutical Perspectives

## TL;DR

This review explores how natural plant extracts support skin repair by influencing key biological pathways and highlights the potential of phytochemicals in wound healing.

## Contribution

The paper synthesizes phytochemical mechanisms and dermopharmaceutical strategies for skin repair, emphasizing molecular pathways over exhaustive plant listings.

## Key findings

- Flavonoids, terpenoids, and other phytochemicals modulate inflammation, redox balance, and tissue repair pathways.
- NF-κB, TGF-β, VEGF, and Nrf2 signaling are central to the wound-healing effects of plant extracts.
- Advanced formulations like hydrogels improve phytochemical delivery but require standardization for clinical translation.

## Abstract

Background: Skin repair and skin wound healing are tightly regulated biological processes that require coordinated control of inflammation, redox homeostasis, angiogenesis, and tissue remodelling. In this context, natural extracts are increasingly recognized as sources of chemically diverse phytochemicals capable of modulating defined molecular signalling pathways that govern cutaneous repair. Methods: This review provides a mechanism-informed synthesis of current evidence by examining representative botanical sources, including Aloe vera, Centella asiatica, Curcuma longa, Calendula officinalis, and Panax ginseng, which have been extensively investigated in preclinical wound-healing models. Rather than providing an exhaustive catalogue of plant species or individual compounds, the analysis emphasizes how distinct phytochemical classes interact with conserved molecular pathways involved in skin repair. Results: Flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids, and polysaccharides influence inflammatory signalling pathways, redox-sensitive pathways, growth factor-mediated responses, and cellular migration, thereby supporting phase-appropriate progression of wound healing. Recurrent modulation of NF-κB, TGF-β, VEGF, and Nrf2 signalling emerges as a central mechanistic theme. Advances in dermopharmaceutical formulation strategies, including hydrogels and lipid-based carriers, may enhance local delivery and stability of phytochemicals; however, their translational value remains dependent on chemical standardization and mechanistic validation. Conclusions: This review provides a mechanism-informed synthesis of current evidence, highlighting how phytochemical diversity, molecular signalling pathways, and dermopharmaceutical formulation strategies collectively shape the therapeutic potential of plant-derived extracts in cutaneous wound healing and may guide future mechanistic and translational research in phytochemical-based wound therapeutics.