Nanocarrier-based transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) represent a cutting-edge approach to overcoming the limitations of traditional TDDS. This comprehensive review delves into the mechanisms, types, advantages, challenges, and future prospects of nanocarrier-based TDDS, highlighting their key benefits, including enhanced drug permeability, controlled release, reduced side effects, and improved stability and bioavailability. The review explores a range of nanocarriers, each with unique properties that enhance their efficacy in TDDS. Clinical applications, such as pain management, hormone replacement therapy, and cancer treatment, are also discussed. To address limitations like poor skin permeability and rapid drug degradation, nanoparticles containing TDDS have been developed, showing improved skin permeation, stability, and bioavailability. This review underscores the promising future of nanocarrier-based TDDS, with ongoing research focused on innovative approaches like smart nanocarriers, personalized medicine, and advanced characterization techniques, ultimately aiming to improve patient outcomes and expand therapeutic possibilities.
Wound healing is a complex physiological process involving haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodelling that is frequently impaired by oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Traditional wound care provides a passive physical barrier; however, it often fails to actively modulate the hostile wound microenvironment. Natural carotenoids such as astaxanthin have emerged as promising bioactive agents capable of addressing these biochemical imbalances due to their potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This review was conducted through a systematic search of electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, to retrieve peer-reviewed literature from in vitro, in vivo and formulation-based studies. Astaxanthin’s unique molecular structure exhibits superior antioxidant activity and membrane stabilising properties, allowing for the effective regulation of macrophage polarisation, angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodelling. Recent advancement in topical delivery systems such as emulsification and encapsulation such as micro- or nano-, liposomes, hydrogels and electrospun nanofibrous membranes have further enhanced astaxanthin’s stability, bioavailability and wound healing efficacy in preclinical models. Despite compelling experimental evidence showing that astaxanthin promotes wound closure and protects cellular components, clinical translation remains limited, highlighting the need for well-designed human studies to optimise formulation strategies, standardize dosing and validate therapeutic outcomes. Overall, astaxanthin represents a multifunctional natural carotenoid with significant potential for the development of next-generation wound healing therapies.
Since α-amylase is essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates, its inhibition could be a useful treatment approach for controlling hyperglycemia. The aim of this review is to analyze the biological mechanisms of α-amylase inhibitors (α-AIs) and their consequences for managing hyperglycemia. A thorough search of literature was done utilizing several databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus. Peer-reviewed research articles, clinical trials, and reviews written in English were included. The involved studies were discussing the origin, structure, and the impact of both natural and artificial α-AIs, emphasizing those generated by plants and microbes. The α-AIs mitigates the health risks linked to hyperglycemia by slowing down the breakdown of carbohydrates, lowering postprandial glucose surges, and therefore enhancing glycemic control. When compared to their synthetic counterparts, such as acarbose and miglitol, natural inhibitors, such as flavonoids and saponins from plants, typically have less adverse effects. Synthetic and natural α-AIs are an intriguing approach to treat hyperglycemia. Investigating α-AIs further, focusing on discovering novel α-AIs that exhibit much better effectiveness and reduced side effects, refining combination treatments, and tailoring care according to patient characteristics may result in novel approaches to hyperglycemia treatment, which would eventually benefit patients.
Many therapeutic drugs, especially those that require long-term administration, high doses, or are linked to dose-dependent toxicity and high cost, will continue to have poor oral bioavailability as a significant barrier to their effective treatment. Therapeutic plasma concentrations will continue to be limited by factors such low aqueous solubility, poor dissolution, limited intestinal permeability, significant first-pass metabolism, and gastrointestinal degradation. Bioenhancers—pharmacologically inert compounds that improve the absorption and systemic availability of co-administered medications—will become more crucial in order to address these issues. The safety, affordability, and variety of modes of action of herbal bioenhancers, which are primarily derived from plant sources, will provide substantial benefits. By altering gastrointestinal physiology, blocking drug-metabolizing enzymes and efflux transporters, and enhancing membrane permeability and drug–target interactions, these medicines will increase bioavailability. Bioenhancers such as piperine, ginger, niaziridin, allicin, quercetin, genistein, glycyrrhizin, and lysergol will demonstrate substantial improvement in the pharmacokinetic and therapeutic profiles of several drugs. Integration of herbal bioenhancers into novel drug delivery systems will further enhance efficacy, reduce dosage requirements, and improve patient compliance, supporting their growing role in modern pharmaceutical development.
Medicinal plants remain instrumental in healthcare due to their abundance of bioactive compounds. Endemic species, in particular, require targeted research, as many remain understudied despite evidence of their biological potential. Numerous anticancer drugs are derived from plants, highlighting the importance of studying underrepresented flora. The unique botanical diversity of Kazakhstan includes Eminium regelii, a rare endemic species of the Araceae family. Although experimental data are limited, early in vitro studies indicate potential anticancer properties. Phytochemical analysis identified luteolin and quercetin as active components. Unlike other species in this genus, E. regelii remains understudied, highlighting the need for further phytochemical and pharmacological research. Furthermore, nanodelivery systems offer a promising strategy for enhancing the solubility, absorption, and efficacy of these flavonoids in future studies. The aim of this review is to comprehensively analyze the therapeutic potential of Eminium regelii as a promising anticancer agent based on existing data.
