Exploring the Influence of Nanotechnology on Medicinal Plants: Leveraging Nanoscale Marvels for Targeted Drug Delivery and Enhanced Therapeutic Efficacy

Medicinal and aromatic plants are used in the treatment for many diseases, there has been indiscriminate exploitation of medicinal plants leading to diminishing and even extinction of many species in their natural habitat. For past many years, medicinal plants have been the source of herbal medicines globally. Due to advancement in pharmacological science, the biological activity and composition of many medicinal plant products have improved substantially. The effectiveness of these herbal medicines lies in biologically active molecules. These active molecules cannot cross the lipid bilayer of cells as they are mostly water soluble and lipid insoluble. Being bulky in size, they are sparingly absorbed, making them to lose their bio-efficacy and bioavailability. Due to above reasons, many plant extracts are not taken forward even for clinical trials. As per recent research studies, nanotechnology had played an important role to enhance efficacy, bio-potential and bioavailability of these biomolecules. The use of nanotechnology makes these drug delivery systems very specific and helps them to target specific organ with targeted action due to their enhanced surface to volume ratio. These herbal medicines are also encapsulated in the form of nanocapsules, therefore reduce the chances of lower solubility. Currently, the production of medicinal plants and supply of herbal medicines are in its nascent stage as compared to their potential. Nanotechnology can play as a potential game-changer in recent biotechnological research.