Chaurasia / Bharati / Gour The Chemistry Inside Spices & Herbs: Research and Development: Volume 7

Research and Development: Volume 7
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 979-8-89881-438-0
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band 7, 400 Seiten

Reihe: The Chemistry Inside Spices & Herbs: Research and Development

The Chemistry Inside Spices & Herbs: Research and Development provides a focused overview of the chemical composition, bioactive compounds, and therapeutic potential of spices and herbs. The book brings together recent research highlighting the role of phytochemicals in health promotion, disease prevention, and natural drug development.
Featuring contributions from pharmaceutical chemists and allied researchers, the volume explores the biochemistry, biotechnology, and medicinal relevance of herbs and spices. It covers topics such as biologically active compounds, herbal medicines, plant-based therapeutics, and clinically significant plants, emphasising their applications in pharmaceutical, nutritional, and functional food research.
Key Features:
-Up-to-date research on phytochemical constituents of spices and herbs
-Comprehensive coverage of bioactive compounds and their health benefits
-Offers insights into herbal medicines and plant-derived therapeutics
-Integrated perspectives on food science, nutrition, and pharmaceutical chemistry

Autoren/Hrsg.

Chaurasia, Pankaj Kumar

Bharati, Shashi Lata

Gour, Nand Kishor

Fachgebiete

• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizinische Fachgebiete Pharmakologie, Toxikologie

Leseproben

Nanotechnology: A Laudable Key to Unlock the Potential of Herbal Therapeutics

Afeefa Noor1, 2, *, Kanchan Kohli3

1 Lloyd Institute of Management and Technology, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

2 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

3 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gurugram University, Gurugram, India

Abstract

Nanotechnology serves as a plausible tool for the transformation of traditional medicines into high-precision therapeutics with unmatched efficacy. Nanotechnological approaches bridge the gap between ancient knowledge and modern science, enabling the transformation of herbal medicines in terms of bioavailability, potency, and enhanced therapeutic activity. The chapter examines the role of various herbal medicine-based nanoformulations—such as phytosomes, Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLNs), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), nanoemulsions, nanogels, and polymeric nanoparticles—in overcoming key limitations of herbal medicines, including poor bioavailability, low solubility, instability, and reduced therapeutic efficacy. The chapter also covers the latest advancements in nanotechnology, which not only overcome the key challenges of herbal medicines but also convert them into safer, sustainable, and effective formulations. The chapter explores future prospects in herbal drug delivery, highlighting nanotechnology as a crucial approach for unlocking the therapeutic potential of herbal medicines.

Keywords: Enhanced bioavailability, Herbal nanomedicine, Inorganic nanoparticles, Lipid-based nanocarriers, Nanotechnology, Polymeric nanoparticles, Quality, Regulatory aspects, Safety, Techniques.

* Corresponding author Afeefa Noor: Lloyd Institute of Management and Technology, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201306, India and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India;
E-mail: [e-mail]

INTRODUCTION

The use of herbal medicines has been trusted since ancient times due to their safety, affordability, therapeutic properties, and high acceptance in the general population. Herbal medicines are recognized worldwide because of their low toxicity and feasibility compared to conventional medicines. The growing popularity of herbal medicines is largely attributed to safety concerns associated with synthetic drugs, the limited effectiveness of many conventional treatments

for common health disorders, and the proven therapeutic efficacy and lower toxicity of herbal remedies. Studies have also shown that conventional drug delivery mainly suppresses symptoms, ignoring the underlying cause of the disease [1]. However, various challenges, including instability, poor solubility, limited absorption, and low bioavailability, hinder the pathway of herbal therapeutics. While overcoming these challenges, nanotechnology offers a solution for the hurdles faced by herbal therapeutics.

The enhanced therapeutics of herbal medicines are magnified by the lens of nanotechnology in an unprecedented way. Nanotechnology serves as a promising tool for enhancing the therapeutic efficacy and precision of herbal medicines. It increases stability, solubility, pharmacological activity, and resistance to degradation from physical and chemical environments, reduces toxicity, enhances tissue macrophage localization, and provides sustained and targeted delivery [2]. Reduction of size to the nanoscale overcomes the various challenges faced by herbal medicines and augments their solubility, stability, and bioavailability. Herbal medicines are also easily degraded by acidic gastric pH and metabolized by the liver, which hinders the attainment of the desired minimum effective concentration and reduces their therapeutic activity simultaneously [1]. A decrease in therapeutic activity also results in the consumption of large doses to achieve the desired effects [3]. Nowadays, various in silico tools are useful for the initial screening of herbal compounds and predicting their activity on various targets, which can be utilized as an initial step for nanotechnology-based herbal drug development [4]. Nanotechnology encompasses a range of advanced drug delivery systems—such as phytosomes, nanoemulsions, liposomes, herbosomes, and nanoparticles—that help overcome the inherent limitations of herbal therapeutics and enable therapeutic outcomes.

RATIONALE FOR INTEGRATING NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR MODERNIZING HERBAL TREATMENTS.

Reduce Toxicity

Many herbal extracts contain solvents like methanol, chloroform, and acetone, which are harmful for consumption. It is unsuitable for consumption and can cause toxic effects on the body. By incorporating it into a novel drug delivery system, this issue can be resolved, and toxicity can be reduced [5].

Dose Reduction

Herbal compounds are primarily bulk drugs, so they cannot be delivered in bulk amounts; an optimized dose incorporated into a suitable formulation is required for better therapeutic activity with minimal side effects [5].

Treatment of Chronic Diseases

Conventional dosage forms, which are available commercially, face issues with target specificity and resistance, as well as in various antibiotic treatments. Herbal bioactives incorporated into nanocarriers can serve as alternative therapies for the treatment of various chronic diseases for which conventional treatments fail to deliver the desired therapeutic activity [5].

Bioavailability Enhancement

Herbal bioactives often face permeability and solubility issues, which decrease their bioavailability. Owing to its nanoscale dimensions, nanotechnology reduces the size of bioactive compounds, enhances their permeability through target membranes, and improves solubility and absorption as a result of the increased surface area. All these factors lead to increased bioavailability [5].

Degradation

Herbal extract undergoes degradation from the acidic pH of the gastric environment, biological fluids, and enzymes. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery acts as a shield for herbal compounds, protecting them from degradation, and delivers the bioactive compounds to specific targets without loss of their inherent therapeutic activity [5].

Patient Compliance

Lower efficacy and a large dose lead to less patient compliance. With the aid of nanotechnology, the dose can be reduced, dosing frequency is reduced, and efficacy also increases, leading to more patient compliance [5].

The advantages of nanotechnology-based herbal drug delivery are depicted in Fig. (1).

TECHNIQUES FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY-BASED HERBAL DRUG DELIVERY

Nanotechnology-based herbal drug delivery can be made through the following commonly used techniques [6]:

Homogenization Method (High Pressure)

The homogenization technique involves high shear of 100 to 2000 bar pressure, which breaks the particles into a nano-sized. It is a secure, effective method for bulk manufacturing of nanocarriers like nanostructured lipid carriers, nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, and other lipid-based drug delivery systems [7].

Fig. (1))
Advantages and disadvantages of herbal drugs with and without the use of nanotechnology.

Nanoprecipitation Technique

This technique employs the interfacial accumulation of polymer, which occurs when a quasipolar solvent, which is soluble with water, is replaced by a hydrophobic solution. The resultant decrease in the interfacial tension augments the surface area, which leads to the emergence of the nano droplets of organic solvent devoid of any stirring [7].

Complex Coacervation Technique

This technique involves the spontaneous phase segregation of two liquid systems within the colloidal system that gets triggered by the association of the oppositely charged polyelectrolytes in the water [7].

Co-precipitation Technique

It is a modified version of the complex coacervation technique, which is good for increasing the dispersion stability of poorly water-soluble compounds. By this technique, nanocore shell particles can be fabricated effectively [7].

Salting Out Technique

In this technique,...