Cancer treatment: from traditional Chinese herbal medicine to the liposome delivery system

Announcing a new publication for Acta Materia Medica journal. Traditional Chinese herbal (TCH) medicines have emerged as a prospective and affordable method to treat various diseases with a broad range of biological activity; however, traditional preparations, like decoctions, are often associated with low bioavailability, thus resulting in limited efficacy against cancer. The drawbacks of active TCH components, including instability, poor permeability, high hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity, undesirable pharmacokinetic profiles, and off-target toxicity, also exist. Most TCH medicines are thus limited to a clinical alternative for the treatment of chronic diseases. A liposomal delivery system is the most common class of FDA-approved nanomedicines, which has improved pharmacokinetics, enhanced targetability, and reduced side effects. Therefore, we anticipate that liposomal delivery technology will help concentrate drugs inside tumors, and fully release the therapeutic potential and reduce the side effects of TCH medicines. The authors of this review provide a brief overview of several representative TCH components and related liposome delivery strategies for enhanced cancer therapy. Current challenges associated with liposomal targeting of TCH medicines are also discussed for interested researchers.

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/AMM-2022-0035

Keywords: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), traditional Chinese herbal (TCH) medicines, liposome, targeted delivery, cancer treatment

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Article Reference: Minhan Fu, Xuan Han and Bin Chen et al. Cancer treatment: from traditional Chinese herbal medicine to the liposome delivery system. Acta Materia Medica. Vol. 1(4):486-506. DOI: 10.15212/AMM-2022-0035