Analytical and biomedical applications of nanomaterials in Chinese herbal medicines research

Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) have been widely used to treat disease in China. However, their unstable quality, vague active compounds and ambiguous effects in vivo make most people suspicious of them. Therefore, it is promising to develop strategies for assuring the quality, discovering active compounds, monitoring the in-vivo biological process, and improving the efficacy of CHMs. Combining novel nanomaterials with multiple analytical and imaging modalities becomes a rising solution to these problems. In this review, analytical and biomedical applications of nanomaterials in CHMs field with an emphasize on their merits are highlighted, including hazardous substances detection, screening and quantification of active compounds, the toxicity and pharmacological evaluation, the optimization of therapeutic efficacy and the component enrichment. There is no doubt that the application of nano materials in CHMs provides researchers new guidelines and it has long-term prospects if some shortcomings are overcome. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) have been widely used in China for disease treatment, but their unstable quality and ambiguous effects have raised suspicions among people. The application of nanomaterials combined with analytical and imaging techniques provides new solutions to ensure the quality, discover active compounds, monitor in-vivo processes, and improve efficacy in the field of CHMs. This review highlights the applications of nanomaterials in CHMs, including hazardous substances detection, active compound screening and quantification, toxicity and pharmacological evaluation, therapeutic efficacy optimization, and component enrichment.