Nanostructures for Improving the Oral Bioavailability of Herbal Medicines

The science and promise of nanotechnology is spreading fast, becoming the major thrust area of research in all scientific disciplines, including drug delivery. The integration of nanotechnology with medicine has resulted in the development of safer and more effective drug delivery systems for several challenging drugs. Nanomedicine formulations have also been demonstrated, in recent times, to overcome the inherent bioavailability problems of different herbal drugs. Curcumin, quercetin, paclitaxel, and several other plant extracts have been successfully delivered through formulation into different types of nanoparticulate systems. Manipulating structures at the nanometer scale has enabled the 174enhancement of the stability, solubility, and membrane permeability of these herbal drugs, which are the major barriers that restricted their therapeutic applications. This chapter will provide a review on various nanostructure-based drug delivery systems used to enhance the bioavailability of herbal medicines.