Abstract

NOVEL NANOSYSTEMS FOR HERBAL DRUG DELIVERY

T. Nalini, V. Sugantha Kumari* and S. Khaleel Basha

ABSTRACT

Potential phytoconstituent isolated from the herbal source are equipotent to synthetic drug. Despite, the therapeutic outcome is limited due to its aqueous solubility and bioavailability. Therefore it becomes necessary to develop a system which could provide an elevated pool of such bioactive compounds. Nanotechnology have provided opportunities for increasing the solubility, improving the bioavailability and enhancing the targetting capacity of such bioactive compounds. It has been widely proposed to combine herbal medicine with nanotechnology, because nanostructured systems potentiate the action of plant extracts, reducing the required dose and side effects, and improving activity. Nanosystems can deliver the active constituent at a sufficient concentration during the entire treatment period, to the desired site of action. For the last one decade many novel carriers such as liposomes, nanoparticles, phytosomes, nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, microspheres polymeric miscelles have been reported for the successful modified delivery of various herbal drugs. The present review is to summarize various novel drug delivery technologies which have been developed for delivery of herbal drug to achieve better therapeutic response.

Keywords: Herbal drugs, Novel drug delivery systems (NDDS), Nanosystems, Liposomes, Nanoparticles.