Herbal and polymeric approaches for liver-targeting drug delivery: novel strategies and their significance

Abstract

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates, which performs many functions including detoxification, protein synthesis and production of various bio-chemicals which are very important for digestion. A large number of serious liver disorders affect millions of people worldwide which are very difficult to treat properly despite many efforts. There are several factors which are responsible for liver injuries, include plants (Crotalaria Senecio Heliotropium Symphytum officinale), drugs (analgesic and antibiotics), industrial toxins (mercury and lead), water, alcohol and so on. Herbal medicinal preparations can be used for the treatment of a large number of human liver disorders like cirrhosis, hepatitis, carcinomas, etc. Indian Medicinal Practitioner's Co-operative pharmacy and Stores (IMPCPS) approved herbal-based systems (Unani, Siddha and Ayurveda) for the treatment of various chronic liver disorders. Different types of the receptors are found on the surface of hepatocytes, Kupffer cell, hepatic stellate cell and sinusoidal endothelial cells, etc., which can be used for achieving liver targeting. These receptors bind to different types of ligands (galactosylated, lactobionic acid, asialofetuin, etc.) which can be used in the formulation to achieve targeted delivery of the drug. Various novel particulate approaches (liposomes, niosomes, nanoparticles, micelles, nanosuspensions, etc.) can be used to enhance the targeting efficiency of systems to receptors found on the surface of different cells present in the liver. In this review, we focused on the status of liver targeting via herbal and nanotechnology inspired formulation approaches.

Archaeosomes: an excellent carrier for drug and cell delivery

“…At present, vaccines and immune therapies targeted at T. cruzi infection are practically nonexistent. In parallel with the efforts toward the identification of vaccine candidates, several adjuvants have been assayed to generate protective immunity to T. cruzi, but with limited success (Rohilla et al, 2014b). An increasing body of evidence has revealed the strong adjuvant properties of Archaeosomes (ARC).…”

Development, optimization and characterization of glycyrrhetinic acid–chitosan nanoparticles of atorvastatin for liver targeting

“…Hepatic-targeted drug delivery systems have attracted much more attention recently for their promising roles in increasing the efficiency of pharmaceutical agents for liver, reducing drug doses and significantly decreasing the toxic side effects (Brannon-Peppas & Blanchette, 2012;Kaur et al, 2014g;Rohilla et al, 2014). In brief, receptor-mediated targeting system is the one that functioned with ligands via chemical coupling or physical coating ways, reaching the desired sites by the special interaction between the ligands in the system and the receptors on the surface of the desired organ Goyal et al, 2014b).…”

Liver-targeting self-assembled hyaluronic acid-glycyrrhetinic acid micelles enhance hepato-protective effect of silybin after oral administration

“…Liver diseases, such as acute and chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, remain to be serious health problems worldwide (Rohilla et al, 2015). As a natural remedy to treat hepatic disorders, silymarin is a standardized extract of flowers and leaves of Silybum marianum (St. Mary's thistle, milk thistle) (Rainone, 2005;Abenavoli et al, 2010).…”