Role of oxidative stress in post-burn wound healing

• Oxidative stress plays a very important role in post-burn wound healing, devastating redox homeostasis and enhancing tissue damage through overpowering reactive oxygen species (ROS) production.

• Severe burns cause systemic oxidative stress, with inflammation, organ dysfunction, and impairment of wound repair, and the levels of ROS are closely related to the severity of burns.

• Antioxidant therapy offers itself as a promising treatment, targeting ROS-mediated injury to limit inflammation and improve burn patient clinical outcomes.

• The primary mechanisms of oxidative stress include neutrophil activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired antioxidant defenses, all of which collectively inhibit the healing process.

• Novel therapies like Nrf2 activators and mitochondrially targeted antioxidants have the potential to restore redox homeostasis and enhance recovery in burns.