Phytoestrogens: Chemistry, potential health benefits, and their medicinal importance.

Phytoestrogens, also known as xenoestrogens, are secondary metabolites derived from plants that have similar structures and biological effects as human estrogens. These compounds do not directly affect biological functions but can act as agonists or antagonists depending on the level of endogenous estrogen in the body. Phytoestrogens may have an epigenetic mechanism of action independent of estrogen receptors. These compounds are found in more than 300 plant species and are synthesized through the phenylpropanoid pathway, with specific enzymes leading to various chemical structures. Phytoestrogens, primarily phenolic compounds, include isoflavonoids, flavonoids, stilbenes, and lignans. Extensive research in animals and humans has demonstrated the protective effects of phytoestrogens on estrogen-dependent diseases. Clinical trials have also shown their potential benefits in conditions such as osteoporosis, Parkinson's disease, and certain types of cancer. This review provides a concise overview of phytoestrogen classification, chemical diversity, and biosynthesis and discusses the potential therapeutic effects of phytoestrogens, as well as their preclinical and clinical development.

Essential oils for clinical aromatherapy: A comprehensive review.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Aromatherapy, a holistic healing practice utilizing the aromatic essences of plant-derived essential oils, has gained significant attention for its therapeutic potential in promoting overall well-being. Use of phytoconstituent based essential oil has played a significant role in the evolving therapeutic avenue of aromatherapy as a complementary system of medicine. AIM OF THE STUDY: This comprehensive review article aims to explore the usage of essential oils for aromatherapy, shedding light on their diverse applications, scientific evidence, and safety considerations. Furthermore, the growing interest in using essential oils as complementary therapies in conjunction with conventional medicine is explored, underscoring the significance of collaborative healthcare approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Literature search was performed from databases like PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Bentham using keywords like Aromatherapy, Aromatic Plants, Essential oils, Phytotherapy, and complementary medicine. The keywords were used to identify literature with therapeutic and mechanistic details of herbal agents with desired action. RESULTS: The integration of traditional knowledge with modern scientific research has led to a renewed interest in essential oils as valuable tools in contemporary healthcare. Various extraction methods used to obtain essential oils are presented, emphasizing their impact on the oil's chemical composition and therapeutic properties. Additionally, the article scrutinizes the factors influencing the quality and purity of essential oils, elucidating the significance of standardization and certification for safe usage. A comprehensive assessment of the therapeutic effects of essential oils is provided, encompassing their potential as antimicrobial, analgesic, anxiolytic, and anti-inflammatory agents, among others. Clinical trials and preclinical studies are discussed to consolidate the existing evidence on their efficacy in treating diverse health conditions, both physical and psychological. Safety considerations are of paramount importance when employing essential oils, and this review addresses potential adverse effects, contraindications, and best practices to ensure responsible usage. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive review provides valuable insights into the exploration of essential oils for aromatherapy, emphasizing their potential as natural and potent remedies for a wide range of ailments. By amalgamating traditional wisdom and modern research, this article aims to encourage further investigation into the therapeutic benefits of essential oils while advocating for their responsible and evidence-based incorporation into healthcare practices.

Pharmacokinetics of vitamin dosage forms: A complete overview.

Vitamins are crucial for sustaining life because they play an essential role in numerous physiological processes. Vitamin deficiencies can lead to a wide range of severe health issues. In this context, there is a need to administer vitamin supplements through appropriate routes, such as the oral route, to ensure effective treatment. Therefore, understanding the pharmacokinetics of vitamins provides critical insights into absorption, distribution, and metabolism, all of which are essential for achieving the desired pharmacological response. In this review paper, we present information on vitamin deficiencies and emphasize the significance of understanding vitamin pharmacokinetics for improved clinical research. The pharmacokinetics of several vitamins face various challenges, and thus, this work briefly outlines the current issues and their potential solutions. We also discuss the feasibility of enhanced nanocarrier-based pharmaceutical formulations for delivering vitamins. Recent studies have shown a preference for nanoformulations, which can address major limitations such as stability, solubility, absorption, and toxicity. Ultimately, the pharmacokinetics of pharmaceutical dosage forms containing vitamins can impede the treatment of diseases and disorders related to vitamin deficiency.

Advanced Phytochemical-Based Nanocarrier Systems for the Treatment of Breast Cancer.

As the world's most prevalent cancer, breast cancer imposes a significant societal health burden and is among the leading causes of cancer death in women worldwide. Despite the notable improvements in survival in countries with early detection programs, combined with different modes of treatment to eradicate invasive disease, the current chemotherapy regimen faces significant challenges associated with chemotherapy-induced side effects and the development of drug resistance. Therefore, serious concerns regarding current chemotherapeutics are pressuring researchers to develop alternative therapeutics with better efficacy and safety. Due to their extremely biocompatible nature and efficient destruction of cancer cells via numerous mechanisms, phytochemicals have emerged as one of the attractive alternative therapies for chemotherapeutics to treat breast cancer. Additionally, phytofabricated nanocarriers, whether used alone or in conjunction with other loaded phytotherapeutics or chemotherapeutics, showed promising results in treating breast cancer. In the current review, we emphasize the anticancer activity of phytochemical-instigated nanocarriers and phytochemical-loaded nanocarriers against breast cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Since diverse mechanisms are implicated in the anticancer activity of phytochemicals, a strong emphasis is placed on the anticancer pathways underlying their action. Furthermore, we discuss the selective targeted delivery of phytofabricated nanocarriers to cancer cells and consider research gaps, recent developments, and the druggability of phytoceuticals. Combining phytochemical and chemotherapeutic agents with nanotechnology might have far-reaching impacts in the future.

Phytochemical-loaded liposomes for anticancer therapy: an updated review.

The major obstacles observed in current chemotherapy are severe adverse effects, narrow therapeutic indexes and multidrug resistance. Anticancer phytochemicals are extracted and purified from natural plants, providing alternative therapeutic approaches with recognized biomedical benefits. However, poor bioavailability, high dose requirements and non-specific targeting have made those molecules less effective. To tackle those issues, liposomal nanovesicles for phytochemical delivery are taken into consideration for improving the therapeutic effectiveness by increasing transportation across cell barriers and conferring attractive cancer-specific targeting capabilities. In the present review, the liposomal approaches of anticancer phytochemicals are discussed, and recent advances in these formulations applied to cancer phytotherapy are further reviewed by an informed approach.

This review describes the application of liposomal phyto-chemotherapy as a promising therapeutic and technological intervention against cancer that has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of cancer therapy, reduce the associated side effects and improve the clinical outcomes of cancer patients.

Etravirine-loaded dissolving microneedle arrays for long-acting delivery.

A key challenge of HIV treatment with multiple antiretroviral drugs is patient adherence. Thus, there is an urgent need for long-acting depot systems for delivering drugs over an extended duration. Although the parenteral route is preferred for depot systems, it is associated with obvious drawbacks, such as painful injections, potentially-contaminated sharps waste, and the necessity of trained healthcare personnel for administration. Amongst a small number of alternatives in development microneedles are versatile delivery systems enabling systemic drug delivery and potentially improving patient adherence due to their capacity for self-administration. We have developed dissolving microneedle (DMNs) embedded with etravirine nanosuspension (ETR NS) as a long-acting HIV therapy to improve patient adherence. The ETR NS prepared by sonoprecipitation yielded particle sizes of 764 ± 96.2 nm, polydispersity indices of of 0.23 ± 0.02, and zeta potentials of -19.75 ± 0.55 mV. The DMNs loaded with ETR NS demonstrated 12.84 ± 1.33% ETR deposition in ex-vivo neonatal porcine skin after 6 h application. In in vivo rat pharmacokinetic studies, the Cmax exhibited by DMNs loaded with ETR powder and ETR NS were 158 ± 10 ng/mL and 177 ± 30 ng/mL, respectively. DMN groups revealed a higher t1/2, Tmax, and mean residence time compared to intravenous ETR solutions, suggesting the long-acting potential of etravirine delivered intradermally using DMNs.