Phytosomes As an Advanced Herbal Drug Delivery System

Phytosomes are an innovative herbal drug delivery system designed to overcome the limitation of poor bioavailability, solubility, and permeability associated with phytoconstituent like polyphenols, flavonoids and glycosides. Formed by complexing phospholipid, primarily phosphatidylcholine with bioactive plants compound in aprotic solvents, phytosomes create lipid-compatible molecular complexes through hydrogen bonding. This technology pioneered by indena, significantly enhances the pharmacokinetic and pharmacological properties of herbal extracts, improving intestinal absorption, reducing dosage requirements and enabling targeted drug delivery. The amphiphilic nature of phospholipids with a hydrophilic choline head and lipophilic phosphatidyl tails ensure high entrapment efficacy, better stability and enhance membrane permeability. The phytosomes are versatile supporting oral, topical, ocular, parenteral, and nasal administration and demonstrate application in antioxidant, cardio protective, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, wound healing, and hepatoprotective therapies. Marketed product like Silymarin, Meriva, and Ginkgo biloba phytosomes highlight their commercial success. Preparation methods including solvent evaporation method , anti-solvent precipitation method, supercritical fluid technology, optimize solubility and stability, while evaluation techniques like stability, scattering and HPLC ensure quality ,advantage, elimination and limited clinical trials persist .This review synthesized recent advancements in phytosome technology, detailing their preparation, characterization, therapeutic application, and potential to revolutionize herbal medicine by enhancing the efficacy of plant-based therapeutic.