Applications of Herbal Drug Delivery Through a Targeted Approach Using Vesicular Carriers

Abstract

Background and Objective: Herbal medicines exhibit pronounced therapeutic activity with minimal toxic effects. The use of the herbal drug through the oral route is considered to be an impediment owing to its poor bioavailability. Therefore, an alternative approach to the Transdermal route was adopted. It has been a challenge for pharmaceutical scientists to deliver the herbal compound effectively through the skin due to the presence of the impregnable layer i.e. the Stratum corneum. Various strategies were employed to overcome the obstruction property of the skin. Firstly, vesicular liposomes were developed and they were unable to access the intact skin layer namely the stratum corneum. Later the use of novel lipid-based vesicular carriers such as ethosomes, invasomes, glycerosomes, transferosomes, and transethosomes for herbal drug delivery showed an increased efficiency to penetrate through the stratum corneum. Furthermore, the use of novel niosomes and proniosomes which are categorized as surfactant-based vesicular carriers improves the skin permeation of the herbal medication Methods: In this current review, painstaking efforts were made to compile and update the various applications of the emerging vesicular carriers such as ethosomes, transethosomes, transferosomes, glycerosomes, invasomes, niosomes, and proniosomes which are employed in herbal drug formulations. This article portrays a detailed survey about varied applications as viz., anti-cancer, anti-acne, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-aging, anti-diabetic, etc. in the form of tables. Conclusion: The application of herbal medicines by employing a suitable novel carrier can exhibit a pronounced therapeutic activity. Therefore, extensive research in the field of herbal drug technology is carried out to impart the phytoconstituents to the targeted sites.