Herbal nano-formulations in lung cancer: Superiorities to original forms

LC (Lung cancer) is the most common type of cancer and has an increased mortality and morbidity rate throughout the world. Although radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgical approaches are among the common curative strategies against LC, these methods have not enough efficacies and may cause adverse effects. As a result, identifying alternative ways in order to treat and control LC patients is necessary.

In this narrative review, we argued about the curative influences nano-based herbal medicine (Curcumin, Green tea, quercetin, and Marsdenia tenacissima) and their comparison with the focus on their mechanistic aspects against LC.

The databases of Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and SID were searched, with no date limitation for articles published in English.

The evaluation results showed these herbal products through various mechanisms, such as regulating the immune system, stimulating cell apoptosis, and autophagy, can be helpful in LC treatment. However, the co-use of herbal medicine and nano-formulations, namely Zinc oxide NPs (Nano particles), CdS QDs (cadmium sulfide quantum dots), NPs conjugated with AuNPs (Au nanoparticles), can dramatically overcome some limitations of herbal medicine and increase its efficacy against LC.

It seems that the use of nanoformulations and herbal medicine improve LC. However, more studies with large sample sizes are needed to prove these findings.