Lipid Nanoparticles for the Delivery of Active Natural Medicines

Background: Thousands of bioactive compounds are identified and isolated from the medicinal plants every year, of which many possess significant health benefits. However, the overwhelming majority of entities suffer from poor water solubility and membrane permeability that impedes them approaching the clinical stage. Methods: Lipid nanoparticles have shown to be a versatile platform for advanced delivery of various therapeuticals, including the oral, topical and systemic routes. Lipid nanoparticles are able to significantly improve the oral bioavailability, pharmacokinetic profile, skin permeability, and ocular residence time of drugs, demonstrating considerable potential in pharmaceutical or medical practice. Results: This article profoundly reviews important applications of lipid nanoparticles in active natural medicines. Special concerns focus on solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) for their training in the oral, intravenous, percutaneous and ocular drug delivery. Conclusion: The survey shows that lipid nanoparticles are promising vehicles for the delivery of various natural actives and may address some intractable problems associated with delivery thereof.