Review: Looking at improvements in drug delivery for bioactive glycoside in TCM

In this review, researchers from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine summarized the diverse pharmacological activities of bioactive glycosides and discussed recent advances in the development of suitable delivery systems for these plant components. The article was published in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine.

• Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in China for thousands of years to treat and/or prevent various diseases.
• Bioactive glycosides are active compounds found in TCM that show therapeutic properties. Their potential warrants further investigation into their administration and biological activities.
• On the other hand, the promising effects of bioactive glycosides are hindered by their poor solubility, poor stability, and rapid elimination.
• To overcome these problems, it is necessary to improve the therapeutic efficacy of bioactive glycosides first.
• Some practical design strategies and novel drug delivery vehicles that were based on drug delivery systems provide favorable support in clinical practice for these active ingredients.
• In particular, bioactive glycosides can be used to treat intractable diseases via targeted drug delivery.
• Design strategies for drug delivery systems revolve around two things: the avoidance of physical barriers, which is facilitated by changing dosage forms, and the enhancement of a compound’s ability to bind to receptors or proteins after administration.
• However, problems arise from combining bioactive glycosides with certain drug delivery vehicles, so addressing these challenges is a top priority.

The researchers hope that one day, suitable drug delivery vehicles for bioactive glycosides can be proposed as these compounds are the ideal candidates for the effective treatment of various diseases by natural means.

Journal Reference:

Li L, Feng Y, Hong Y, Lin X, Shen L. RECENT ADVANCES IN DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR BIOACTIVE GLYCOSIDES FROM TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 2018;46(08):1791–1824. DOI: 10.1142/s0192415x18500908