title: Hydrogel-Based Materials for Delivery of Herbal Medicines.
abstract: Herbal medicine, as an integral component of oriental medicine, has assimilated into the lives of Asian people for millennia. The therapeutic efficiency of herbal extracts and ingredients has, however, been limited by various factors, including the lack of targeting capacity and poor bioavailability. Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymer networks that can imbibe a substantial amount of fluids. They are biocompatible, and may enable sustained drug release. Hydrogels, therefore, have attracted widespread studies in pharmaceutical formulation. This article first reviews the latest progress in the development of hydrogel-based materials as carriers of herbal medicines, followed by a discussion of the relationships between hydrogel properties and carrier performance. Finally, the promising potential of using hydrogels to combine medicinal herbs with synthetic drugs in one single treatment will be highlighted as an avenue for future research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University , Shenzhen 518060, China.|Department of Applied Biology & Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Wing-Fu
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0585-6396
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Materials Science and Centre for Functional Photonics, City University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Andrey L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8263-8141
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Rogach
mesh_terms: D001682:Biological Availability; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D029001:Herbal Medicine; D020100:Hydrogels; D011108:Polymers
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D011108:Polymers
keywords: drug delivery; herb; hydrogels; oriental medicine; sustained release