Use of propolis in the treatment of skin lesions: integrative review

Abstract

The skin is constantly exposed to mechanical, biological, physical and chemical traumas that can cause rupture, injury or great tissue loss, as it is considered the body's first protective barrier against external factors. Thus, in order to restore the integrity of the skin, the wound healing process is initiated, it is a complex and vital process for the homeostasis of the organism. This study aimed to analyze the scientific evidence on the use of propolis in the treatment of skin lesions, through an integrative literature review. This is a descriptive study, with a qualitative approach of the integrative literature review type. The search and bibliographic survey were performed using the electronic database of the Virtual Health Library (VHL), indexed in the MEDLINE database, LILACS and BDENF, Google Scholar was also used. Full articles published in Portuguese and English and with a time frame from 2007 to 2022 were included in the study. All duplicate articles and those without answer to the guiding question were excluded. Propolis in the treatment of wounds has therapeutic properties that will act directly on the speed of healing, reducing the time that this event takes place, it acts on the construction of granulation tissue, in addition to repairing the tissue and stimulating the migration of keratinocytes. It is possible to observe that the results of the evaluated studies allow to deepen the knowledge about the effectiveness of propolis and its therapeutic actions when used for the treatment of chronic wounds, where it contributes significantly to the most promising healing and, in addition, reducing the costs of therapy.