Multifunctional Herbal Nanocrystals for Enhanced Drug Delivery and Biomedical Applications

ABSTRACT Herbal medicines are widely adopted but face several challenges for efficient delivery due to their lower solubility, stability, bioavailability, and non‐targeted delivery for the treatment of various diseases such as pulmonary, cancer, hepatic, cardiovascular, and wound healing. This results in insufficient therapeutic action despite the fact that they are both safe and effective. Recently, nanocrystals of herbal compounds have been increasingly employed to enhance drug delivery by modifying their solubility, dissolution, and bioavailability. Several studies have confirmed that nanocrystal of herbal ingredients are a potential approach to enhance the therapeutic response toward the treatment of numerous diseases. This review summarizes the various advantages of nanocrystals, including their recent application in the delivery of active herbal ingredients. The latest applications of herbal nanocrystals in the delivery of herbal compounds for liver disorders, cancer therapy, pulmonary diseases, transdermal delivery, and bioavailability enhancement are discussed. In addition, the challenges and limitations of herbal compound nanocrystals are reviewed. This review provides progress in the delivery of herbal nanocrystals as an innovative strategy for the improved delivery of herbal compounds.