Natural Extracts in Skin Repair and Wound Healing: Molecular Mechanisms and Pharmaceutical Perspectives

Background: Skin repair and wound healing are tightly regulated biological processes that require coordinated control of inflammation, redox balance, angiogenesis, and tissue remodeling. Natural extracts are increasingly investigated not as nonspecific bioactive mixtures, but as sources of chemically diverse phytochemicals capable of modulating defined molecular signaling pathways involved in skin repair. Methods: Representative botanical sources, including Aloe Vera, Centella asiatica, Curcuma longa, Calendula officinalis, and Panax ginseng, have been extensively studied in pre-clinical wound models, providing insight into how distinct phytochemical classes intersect with shared regulatory mechanisms. Results: Flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids, and polysaccharides have been shown to influence inflammatory signaling, redox-sensitive pathways, growth factor-mediated responses, and cellular migration, thereby supporting phase-appropriate progression of wound healing. At the molecular level, modulation of pathways such as NF-κB, TGF-β, VEGF, and Nrf2 emerges as a recurring mechanistic theme, while excessive or poorly timed pathway activation is increasingly recognized as a source of impaired tissue quality or fibrotic risk. Advances in dermopharmaceutical formulation strategies, including hydrogels, nanoemulsions, and lipid-based carriers, have improved local delivery and stability of phytochemicals, but also introduced additional translational and regulatory constraints. Conclusions: This review provides a mechanism-driven and pharmaceutical-oriented synthesis of current evidence, highlighting how molecular specificity, temporal regulation, and formulation design collectively determine the therapeutic relevance of plant-derived extracts in skin wound healing.