Review Article
    Pharmacognosy Reviews
    Vol. 4
    Issue 7
    2010
    pp. 27-31
    Open Access

    Importance of novel drug delivery systems in herbal medicines

    V. Kusum Devi1,Nimisha Jain1,Kusum S. Valli1
    1Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, INDIA.
    Correspondence:

    *Nimisha Jain

    Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, INDIA.

    nimishajain_7@yahoo.com

    Copyright:

    2010 Author(s)

    Check for updates
    Published:28/07/2010
    Received: 26/03/2010
    Accepted: 15/05/2010

    Abstract

    Novel drug delivery system is a novel approach to drug delivery that addresses the limitations of the traditional drug delivery systems. Our country has a vast knowledge base of Ayurveda whose potential is only being realized in the recent years. However, the drug delivery system used for administering the herbal medicine to the patient is traditional and out-of-date, resulting in reduced efficacy of the drug. If the novel drug delivery technology is applied in herbal medicine, it may help in increasing the efficacy and reducing the side effects of various herbal compounds and herbs. This is the basic idea behind incorporating novel method of drug delivery in herbal medicines. Thus it is important to integrate novel drug delivery system and Indian Ayurvedic medicines to combat more serious diseases. For a long time herbal medicines were not considered for development as novel formulations owing to lack of scientific justification and processing difficulties, such as standardization, extraction and identification of individual drug components in complex polyherbal systems. However, modern phytopharmaceutical research can solve the scientific needs (such as determination of pharmacokinetics, mechanism of action, site of action, accurate dose required etc.) of herbal medicines to be incorporated in novel drug delivery system, such as nanoparticles, microemulsions, matrix systems, solid dispersions, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles and so on. This article summarizes various drug delivery technologies, which can be used for herbal actives together with some examples.

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    Keywords

    Herbal medicines
    herbs
    novel drug delivery system
    phytopharmaceuticals
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