Advances in Chinese herbal medicine for skin wound repairing engineering: Ingredients, mechanisms, and innovations

As the largest organ of the human body, the skin plays a crucial role in protection, immune regulation, and the homeostasis of the internal environment. Skin trauma, especially chronic wounds such as diabetic ulcers, poses a major challenge in clinical practice. Wound healing is a complex and highly programmed process that involves the coordinated action of different tissues and cells. When normal skin is injured, wound healing typically goes through four consecutive phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Although traditional treatment methods are effective, they are costly and carry risks. Chinese herbal medicines have a long history of use and are characterized by multi-targeted therapy. Due to their complex components and unique structures, Chinese herbal medicines can be engineered to undergo aggregation or self-assembly, forming novel bio-derived materials. Chinese herbal medicine-related extracts, active ingredients, new bioactive compounds, and their derived novel materials or advanced delivery systems have shown greater advantages in biocompatibility and activity. They have become a popular research topic in recent years and a promising alternative in the research and development of innovative skin repair biomaterials and engineered systems.The focus of this Research Topic is to explore the application potential of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) — including relevant extracts, active ingredients, new bioactive compounds, and bio-derived novel materials and engineered systems — in wound healing. This includes but is not limited to illustrating the diverse mechanisms of action, biomaterial design, research and development, as well as application and promotion of TCM components as biomaterials in wound healing and skin repair. It aims to provide a promising alternative for research on innovative skin repair materials and to advance the field through engineering principles.The types of manuscripts covered in this research topic include original research articles, as well as commentary articles focusing on the R&D, application, and mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) — including relevant extracts, active ingredients, new bioactive compounds, and their derived biomaterials and engineered platforms — in wound healing. It also includes review articles that summarize the major advances in the field of TCM-based wound healing therapy with a focus on material science and engineering aspects in humans and animals.The main content to be included in this Research Topic is as follows:- The development of TCM derivatives (including relevant extracts, active ingredients, new bioactive compounds, and derived novel materials) as advanced biomaterial platforms in the field of wound healing.- The mechanisms and effects of TCM components and derived biomaterials in the field of wound healing;- Bioengineering approaches for the application of TCM components in biomaterial design for wound healing;- In vivo and in vitro methods for applying TCM-derived biomaterials in wound healing in animal models or humans, with a focus on material performance, biocompatibility, and integration;- The interactions between TCM-derived materials and cells in the wound healing microenvironment.Note to authors: Submissions should emphasize the material science, engineering, and biological interactions of the TCM-derived components, aligning with the scope of biomaterials research. This section does not accept submissions focused on clinical studies, drug discovery, or virology; rather, it encourages research on specialized applications of engineered biomaterials incorporating TCM principles. Topic editors: Chih-Yuan Ko, Wang Lingzhi, Dongdong Qin, Sheng Wei Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77164/advances-in-chinese-herbal-medicine-for-skin-wound-repairing-engineering-ingredients-mechanisms-and-innovations