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Review
. 2022 Nov 24;14(12):2581.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14122581.

Plant Nanovesicles for Essential Oil Delivery

Mónica Zuzarte  1   2   3 , Carla Vitorino  4   5 , Lígia Salgueiro  4   5 , Henrique Girão  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Plant Nanovesicles for Essential Oil Delivery

Mónica Zuzarte et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

Essential oils' therapeutic potential is highly recognized, with many applications rising due to reported anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, anti-aging, and anti-cancer effects. Nevertheless, clinical translation still remains a challenge, mainly due to essential oils' volatility and low water solubility and stability. The present review gathers relevant information and postulates on the potential application of plant nanovesicles to effectively deliver essential oils to target organs. Indeed, plant nanovesicles are emerging as alternatives to mammalian vesicles and synthetic carriers due to their safety, stability, non-toxicity, and low immunogenicity. Moreover, they can be produced on a large scale from various plant parts, enabling an easier, more rapid, and less costly industrial application that could add value to waste products and boost the circular economy. Importantly, the use of plant nanovesicles as delivery platforms could increase essential oils' bioavailability and improve chemical stability while reducing volatility and toxicity issues. Additionally, using targeting strategies, essential oils' selectivity, drug delivery, and efficacy could be improved, ultimately leading to dose reduction and patient compliance. Bearing this in mind, information on current pharmaceutical technologies available to enable distinct routes of administration of loaded vesicles is also discussed.

Keywords: extracellular vesicles; functionalized vesicles; plant-derived vesicles; volatile compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of biological cargo found in plant nanovesicles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Plant-derived nanovesicles for essential oil delivery: a work-flow proposal.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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