Advances in plant-derived edible nanoparticle-based lipid nano-drug delivery systems as therapeutic nanomedicines

Plant-derived edible nanoparticles (PDNPs) are nano-sized membrane vesicles released by edible plants, such as grapefruit, ginger, broccoli, and lemon. They are non-toxic, have tissue-specific targeting properties, and can be mass-produced. Thus, they have great potential for clinical applications. PDNPs offer multiple advantages over the currently available drug delivery systems, such as their relatively high internalization rate, low immunogenicity, proven stability in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and the ability to overcome the blood-brain barrier but not cross the placental barrier. In this review, we discuss these merits of PDNPs and analyze the current issues in PDNP research.