ABSTRACT
Various phytochemicals are being traditionally used for the treatment of various diseases owing to their eco-friendliness, natural abundance, cost-effectiveness, and organic nature. Despite their potency, clinical translation of phytoconstituents is constrained owing to their intrinsic physicochemical properties (i.e., aqueous solubility, permeation coefficient, and chemical stability), poor bioavailability, short plasma half-life, and sub-therapeutic efficacy. To mitigate these shortcomings, nanotechnology has been used in the past few decades. In this chapter, we have mainly focused on biopharmaceutical and therapeutic significance of various types of nanodelivery systems for the targeted delivery of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals for the treatment of various diseases. Critical analysis of existing lines of evidence has revealed that encapsulation of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals in various nanodelivery systems (phytonanomedicine) has resulted in significant improvement in physicochemical properties, biocompatibility, bioavailability, pharmacokinetic profile, and therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, many recent adaptations such as PEGylation, surface functionalization with targeting ligand(s), and stimuli-responsive behavior of phytonanomedicines have also been pondered to maximize targeted biodistribution, cell uptake efficiency, prolonged localization, and therapeutic efficacy. Convincingly, phytonanomedicines have modernized the therapeutic value of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals for the treatment of various inflammatory disorders; however, one of the major restrictions to the clinical translation of phytonanomedicines is the lack of substantial lines of evidence on their prerequisite safety and efficacy in humans, which needs further exploration.
