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. 2024 Oct 31:15:1461708.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1461708. eCollection 2024.

Biomaterial-mediated delivery of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients for spinal cord injury: a systematic review

Gang Liu #  1 , Zhenzhen Pei #  2 , Huizhong Bai  1 , Luyao Huo  1 , Bowen Deng  3 , Shengyuan Jiang  1 , Jingwei Tao  1 , Lin Xu  1 , Jinyu Li  1 , Feng Gao  1 , Xiaohong Mu  1
Affiliations

Biomaterial-mediated delivery of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients for spinal cord injury: a systematic review

Gang Liu et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Objective: Biomaterials loaded with ingredients derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are viewed as a promising strategy for treating spinal cord injury (SCI). However, a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature on this topic has not yet been conducted. Therefore, this paper systematically reviews researches related to this approach, aiming to identify gaps and shortcomings in the field.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for retrieving studies on biomaterials loaded with TCM ingredients published from their inception to October 2024. Two reviewers performed screening of search results, information extraction, and literature quality assessment independently.

Results: For this systematic review, 41 publications were included. Six TCM ingredients-paclitaxel, curcumin, tetramethylpyrazine, resveratrol, berberine, and tanshinone IIA were combined with biomaterials for treatment of SCI. Biomaterials were categorized into hydrogels, biodegradable scaffolds, nanoparticles, and microspheres according to the type of scaffold. These drug delivery systems exhibit commendable biocompatibility, drug-loading capacity, and drug-release capabilities, and in combination with TCM ingredients, synergistically contribute to anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anti-apoptotic effects.

Conclusion: These studies demonstrated the efficacy of biomaterials loaded with TCM ingredients in facilitating motor function recovery and neuroprotection in SCI rats, providing evidence for future research. However, in the complex microenvironment of SCI, achieving the maximum drug loading capacity of TCM ingredients within biomaterials, along with sustained and controlled release to fully exert their pharmacological effects, remains a major challenge for future research.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/ identifier CRD42024505000.

Keywords: biomaterials; hydrogels; scaffolds; spinal cord injury; traditional Chinese medicine ingredients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
PRISMA flow diagram for identifying eligible studies.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The results of the risk of bias assessment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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