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Introduction: Managing burn injury-associated pain and wounds is a major unresolved clinical problem. Opioids, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antidepressants and anticonvulsants remain the most common forms of analgesic therapy to treat burn patients. However, prolonged treatment with these drugs leads to dose escalation and serious side effects. Additionally, severe burn wounds cause scarring and are susceptible to infection. Recent encouraging findings demonstrate that curcumin, a major bioactive component found in turmeric, is a natural pharmacotherapeutic for controlling both severe burn pain and for improved wound healing.

Areas covered: This article covers current pr-clinical and clinical studies on the analgesic and wound healing effects. Particular emphasis has been placed on studies aimed at developing improved curcumin delivery vehicles that increase its bioavailability …