Herbal Nanoformulations for Asthma Treatment

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, the prevalence of asthma has substantially increased worldwide. Advances in phytochemistry and phytopharmacology have clarified the active ingredients and biological activities of medicinal plant products for treating asthma, and the role of herbal therapies in asthma treatment has become increasingly evident. However, most plant extracts have low solubility and poor stability of bioactive components, resulting in low bioavailability and loss of efficacy. Owing to these shortcomings, the clinical use of many herbal extracts is limited. OBJECTIVE: To summarise and analyse the characteristics of herbal nanoformulations and their application in asthma treatment. The objective of this review article is to address the emerging trends of herbal nanoformulations for an effective treatment of asthma. METHODS: Various research and review articles from reputed international journals were referred to and compiled. RESULTS: The nano-sized herbal formulations improve the solubility and bioavailability of herbal medicines and contribute to the sustained release of drugs, thus, increasing the therapeutic applications of herbal extracts. The review present different types of herbal nanoformulations, including micelles, nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, lipid-based liquid crystalline nanoparticles and nanoemulsions, which are potential nanodrugs for asthma treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Herbal nanoformulations have shown great prospects for the treatment of asthma in recent years. More safety and toxicity data are still needed to promote their development and application.