Trojan Horse Delivery Strategies of Natural Medicine Monomers: Challenges and Limitations in Improving Brain Targeting
Central nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as brain tumors, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, significantly impact patients’ quality of life and impose substantial economic burdens on society. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) limits the effective delivery of most therapeutic drugs, especia...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Pharmaceutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/280 |
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| author | Kelu Lei Lanyu Zhou Min Dan Fei Yang Tiantian Jian Juan Xin Zhigang Yu Yue Wang |
| author_facet | Kelu Lei Lanyu Zhou Min Dan Fei Yang Tiantian Jian Juan Xin Zhigang Yu Yue Wang |
| author_sort | Kelu Lei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Central nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as brain tumors, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, significantly impact patients’ quality of life and impose substantial economic burdens on society. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) limits the effective delivery of most therapeutic drugs, especially natural products, despite their potential therapeutic effects. The Trojan Horse strategy, using nanotechnology to disguise drugs as “cargo”, enables them to bypass the BBB, enhancing targeting and therapeutic efficacy. This review explores the applications of natural products in the treatment of CNS diseases, discusses the challenges posed by the BBB, and analyzes the advantages and limitations of the Trojan Horse strategy. Despite the existing technical challenges, future research is expected to enhance the application of natural drugs in CNS treatment by integrating nanotechnology, improving delivery mechanisms, and optimizing targeting characteristics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7d1020de26ba4db69e43cbf5f82ea770 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1999-4923 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmaceutics |
| spelling | doaj-art-7d1020de26ba4db69e43cbf5f82ea7702025-08-20T01:48:53ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232025-02-0117328010.3390/pharmaceutics17030280Trojan Horse Delivery Strategies of Natural Medicine Monomers: Challenges and Limitations in Improving Brain TargetingKelu Lei0Lanyu Zhou1Min Dan2Fei Yang3Tiantian Jian4Juan Xin5Zhigang Yu6Yue Wang7Department of Pharmacy, Ya’an People’s Hospital-West China Ya’an Hospital, Sichuan University, Ya’an 625000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Ya’an People’s Hospital-West China Ya’an Hospital, Sichuan University, Ya’an 625000, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Ya’an People’s Hospital-West China Ya’an Hospital, Sichuan University, Ya’an 625000, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Ya’an People’s Hospital-West China Ya’an Hospital, Sichuan University, Ya’an 625000, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Ya’an People’s Hospital-West China Ya’an Hospital, Sichuan University, Ya’an 625000, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Ya’an People’s Hospital-West China Ya’an Hospital, Sichuan University, Ya’an 625000, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Ya’an People’s Hospital-West China Ya’an Hospital, Sichuan University, Ya’an 625000, ChinaCentral nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as brain tumors, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, significantly impact patients’ quality of life and impose substantial economic burdens on society. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) limits the effective delivery of most therapeutic drugs, especially natural products, despite their potential therapeutic effects. The Trojan Horse strategy, using nanotechnology to disguise drugs as “cargo”, enables them to bypass the BBB, enhancing targeting and therapeutic efficacy. This review explores the applications of natural products in the treatment of CNS diseases, discusses the challenges posed by the BBB, and analyzes the advantages and limitations of the Trojan Horse strategy. Despite the existing technical challenges, future research is expected to enhance the application of natural drugs in CNS treatment by integrating nanotechnology, improving delivery mechanisms, and optimizing targeting characteristics.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/280central nervous system diseasesblood–brain barriernatural productstrojan horse strategynanotechnologydrug delivery |
| spellingShingle | Kelu Lei Lanyu Zhou Min Dan Fei Yang Tiantian Jian Juan Xin Zhigang Yu Yue Wang Trojan Horse Delivery Strategies of Natural Medicine Monomers: Challenges and Limitations in Improving Brain Targeting Pharmaceutics central nervous system diseases blood–brain barrier natural products trojan horse strategy nanotechnology drug delivery |
| title | Trojan Horse Delivery Strategies of Natural Medicine Monomers: Challenges and Limitations in Improving Brain Targeting |
| title_full | Trojan Horse Delivery Strategies of Natural Medicine Monomers: Challenges and Limitations in Improving Brain Targeting |
| title_fullStr | Trojan Horse Delivery Strategies of Natural Medicine Monomers: Challenges and Limitations in Improving Brain Targeting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trojan Horse Delivery Strategies of Natural Medicine Monomers: Challenges and Limitations in Improving Brain Targeting |
| title_short | Trojan Horse Delivery Strategies of Natural Medicine Monomers: Challenges and Limitations in Improving Brain Targeting |
| title_sort | trojan horse delivery strategies of natural medicine monomers challenges and limitations in improving brain targeting |
| topic | central nervous system diseases blood–brain barrier natural products trojan horse strategy nanotechnology drug delivery |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/280 |
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