Is bark best for burns? Jim Brandenburg/ Minden Pictures/Getty

A naturally-occurring chemical in birch bark helps skin wounds mend faster with less scarring, a clinical trial has found.

The bark of birch trees has long been known for its healing properties. This inspired German pharmaceutical company Birken AG – now owned by Amryt Pharma – to develop and test whether a gel made from birch bark extract might help treat wounds.

The company previously showed that the gel sped up the wound healing process in patients who had patches of skin cut out for surgical graft procedures.

Now, Quentin Frew at …