Title:Plant-Derived Biomolecules and Drug Delivery Systems in the Treatment of Liver and Kidney Diseases
Volume: 22
Issue: 35
Author(s): Anca Hermenean, Claudia Smeu, Sami Gharbia, Istvan A. Krizbai and Aurel Ardelean
Affiliation:
Keywords:
liver fibrosis, kidney fibrosis, plant-derived biomolecules, drug delivery.
Abstract: Chronic liver and kidney diseases are among the most fearful pathologies affecting
an increasing number of people, having severe consequences on life quality. Although
much progress has been made in recent years, availability of cost-effective and innovative
therapies is still an unmet medical need. One of the major challenges in the therapy of liver
and kidney diseases is to selectively deliver drugs to achieve therapeutically relevant concentration
in the target organ, in order to decrease the amount of drug needed and to reduce
unwanted side effects. In this review we summarize recent advances in selective drug targeting
to liver or to kidney including cell-selective therapeutic approaches as well. We pay
special attention to plant-derived bioactive molecules which constitute promising tools for
the treatment of chronic liver and kidney diseases. We discuss cellular, subcellular and molecular
mechanisms underlying the observed pharmacological effects of plant-derived drugs
and give an overview of formulations, which can increase therapeutic effectiveness of these
biomolecules in the treatment of chronic liver and kidney disorders.