Nano-phytoconstituents: Recent advances, regulatory insights, challenges, and future horizons

Phytoconstituents possess therapeutic potency in human diseases, including antioxidant, antitumor, antiinflammatory, and anti-microbial impacts, as well as cardioprotective and neuroprotective capabilities. Nonetheless, they suffer from shortcomings like low solubility and bioavailability, fast degradation upon administration, and elevated doses required to exert therapeutic effects, culminating in potential adverse effects. As a solution to these, nanoscale drug delivery systems (DDSs) such as polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), lipid-based NPs, protein-based NPs, etc. are currently devised to realize intended goals in herbal medicine, which critically are sustained release and targeted delivery of phytomedicines to affected sites. Current DDSs are formulated to encapsulate diverse phytochemicals, including curcumin, berberine, resveratrol, quercetin, baicalin, and rosmarinic acid. The ultimate nanoassembly affords superior properties such as protracted circulation time, sustained release, site-specific delivery, synergistic effects (with antitumor agents), and measurable diseasealleviating effects. This article covers recent progress in nanophytomedicines and explores how DDSs can enrich the therapeutic properties of these phytochemicals. Further, the present article covers the regulatory aspects and ethical issues to be reflected when devising such DDSs, as well as the current standing of nanophytoconstituents in clinical trials.