Abstract: Honey is a natural product rich in several phenolic compounds, enzymes, and sugars with antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflflammatory, and antimicrobial potential. Indeed, the development of honey-based adhesives for wound care and other biomedical applications are topics being widely investigated over the years. Some of the advantages of the use of honey for wound-healing solutions are the acceleration of dermal repair and epithelialization, angiogenesis promotion, immune response promotion and the reduction in healing-related infections with pathogenic microorganisms. This paper reviews the main role of honey on the development of wound-healing-based applications, the main compounds responsible for the healing capacity, how the honey origin can inflfluence the healing properties, also highlighting promising results in in vitro and in vivo trials. The challenges in the use of honey for wound healing are also covered and discussed. The delivery methodology (direct application, incorporated in fifibrous membranes and hydrogels) is also presented and discussed.

Keywords: honey; wound-healing; antioxidant; antimicrobial; hydrogels; dermal repair; hydrogel

Abstract: Wound healing involves a series of cellular events in damaged cells and tissues initiated with hemostasis and fifinally culminating with the formation of a fifibrin clot. However, delay in the normal wound healing process during pathological conditions due to reactive oxygen species, inflflammation and immune suppression at the wound site represents a medical challenge. So far, many therapeutic strategies have been developed to improve cellular homeostasis and chronic wounds in order to accelerate wound repair. In this context, the role of Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) during the wound healing process has been a stimulating research topic for therapeutic perspectives. Nrf2 is the main regulator of intracellular redox homeostasis. It increases cytoprotective gene expression and the antioxidant capacity of mammalian cells. It has been reported that some bioactive compounds attenuate cellular stress and thus accelerate cell proliferation, neovascularization and repair of damaged tissues by promoting Nrf2 activation. This review highlights the importance of the Nrf2 signaling pathway in wound healing strategies and the role of bioactive compounds that support wound repair through the modulation of this crucial transcription factor.

Keywords: Nrf2; wound healing; skin; inflflammation; antioxidant.