Abstract
Todays, nano-pharmaceutics is emerging as an important field of science to develop and improve efficacy of different drugs. Although nutraceuticals are currently being utilized in the prevention and treatment of various chronic diseases such as cancers, a number of them have displayed issues associated with their solubility, bioavailability, and bio-degradability. In the present review, we focus on curcumin, an important and widely used polyphenol, with diverse pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-viral, etc. Notwithstanding, it also exhibits poor solubility and bioavailability that may compromise its clinical application to a great extent. Therefore, the manipulation and encapsulation of curcumin into a nanocarrier formulation can overcome these major drawbacks and potentially may lead to a far superior therapeutic efficacy. Among different types of nanocarriers, biological and biopolymer carriers have attracted a significant attention due to their pleiotropic features. Thus, in the present review, the potential protective and therapeutic applications of curcumin, as well as different types of bio-nanocarriers, which can be used to deliver curcumin effectively to the different target sites will be discussed.
Highlights
In ancient cultures, the plants played a crucial role in providing food, spices, and medication to the human population [1,2,3,4]
Saleh et al deciphered the potential of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) aptamer-decorated human serum albumin NPs loaded with curcumin (281 nm) on HER2 overexpressing breast cancer cells
We have discussed different types of biopolymers and biological carriers in different forms that can be used for curcumin delivery
Summary
The plants played a crucial role in providing food, spices, and medication to the human population [1,2,3,4]. The distinguishing features of these nano-systems like biodegradability, biocompatibility, eco-friendliness, and a wide range of commercial applications have made them as an ideal candidates for the drug delivery applications [35] These types of polymers can incorporate drugs through two main methods; desolvation process (for proteins) and nanoprecipitation (for polysaccharides) in different forms of the hydrogels, single biopolymers, and complex biopolymers [36]. Curcumin-encapsulated exosomes provide high plasma concentration along with low toxicity and immune response induction [18] In addition to their anti-aging and antioxidant properties, they can be effective against venom activities, protozoal and microbial contamination, inflammatory responses, angiogenesis procedure, and tumor suppression through the presence of exosomes [39]. The present review is a short description of curcumin, a widely used polyphenol exhibiting anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities and different biopolymeric as well as biological nanocarriers that can be used to facilitate substantial improvement in its bioavailability for therapeutic applications
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