Novel Pharmaceutical Forms Including Biopolymer Encapsulated Antiviral Natural Compounds

The development of new technologies to reduce the limitations of traditional pharmaceutical dosage forms and increase their efficiency is a necessity. Viral infections are one of the significant causes of death worldwide. Various studies have reported that drugs used to kill the virus might also damage healthy body tissues. Because of this reason, exploring novel bioactive compounds from nature has started to gain great importance. Especially now, polyphenols and their applications are one of the most studied topics in the literature due to their promising results against viral infections. In addition to all the advantages of polyphenols, it is stated in the literature that the requirement of high doses and the fact that their efficacy depends on the protection of stability, bioactivity, and bioavailability of the active ingredients limit the application of polyphenols. With encapsulation technology, an increase in the bioavailability and stability of polyphenols and their uptake into target cells can be achieved. In this chapter, plant-derived polyphenols, their stabilities, and encapsulation of polyphenols in order to increase their stability and their potential as antiviral agents will be explained.