**13. Conclusions**

Despite of rapid and extensive researches on curcumin as a natural ingredient with alginate for formulation of wound dressing materials for proper wound healing, till today, no such curcumin-alginate based commercial products are available in the market for pharmaceutical use. Recently, many patents have been filled and approved for preparing curcumin based biopolymers useful for wound healing materials, but in practical, the use of the same is in clinical stage. As stated in the text, curcumin has broad range of pharmacological activities, its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, in particular, suggest that it may be very effective and useful in wound dressing [154]. As a best Indian herbal medicine over the years, curcumin topical formulations, including nano-architectures, have been developed and tested for enhancing curcumin's wound-healing activity. The key reason for choosing the topical nano-formulation of curcumin is that it provides better solubility, bioavailability and sustained release of curcumin in an active form, all of which are essential for delivering a consistent dose of the drug for a long period which further help in wound healing. Curcumin's perfect dose is critical for

## *Curcumin-Alginate Mixed Nanocomposite: An Evolving Therapy for Wound Healing DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98830*

a variety of reasons, but most importantly, its complex function in the inflammatory response in wound healing must be discussed before further clinical progress. As summarised in this chapter various topical formulations of curcumin are being developed with the aim of delivering curcumin to the wounded site in a sustained manner to enhance therapeutic outcomes. Nonetheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying its ability to control chronic inflammation and influence the genetic, cellular wound environment are expected to be studied in depth. While current research on various topical formulations of curcumin appears promising, the majority of published evidence is based on in vitro and *in-vivo* studies, and clinical trials are still required. Thus, in the near future, experiments on human clinical trials should provide answers to concerns about the safety of different topical formulations based on curcumin-alginate in biological systems, as well as their therapeutic wound-healing efficacy.
