Gojihva (Launaea nudicaulis [L.] Hook.f.), a potential herb for chronic wound healing: A case study

Chronic wounds are becoming challenge for scientific community due to their economical and psychological burden. Contemporary science tried hard to cop up with this difficult situation by the use of tissue engineering, cell-based therapy, plasma therapy along with various dressings, and surgical procedures, but the results are not very promising. Wounds are described under the heading of Vrana in Ayurveda along with various herbs and herbomineral preparations for their management. Gojihva (Launaea nudicaulis [L.] Hook.f.) is an herb mentioned to be useful in various diseases as well as for wounds. It is also practiced ethnomedicinally for wound management in various countries. A 60-year-old male having non-healing wound on his dorsal surface of the forearm for the past 45 days was treated with dressing of Gojihva kwatha (~ decoction) for 28 days. Bates–Jensen Wound Assessment Tool (BWAT), wound tracing and digital photography was used to asses wound healing on every week. BWAT score was 52 before treatment and 13 after the treatment. The surface area was 42.9 cm2 before treatment and nil after treatment. The wound was completely healed in 28 days without any complications.