Nanocarriers based delivery of nutraceuticals for cancer prevention and treatment: A review of recent research developments

•Brief introduction of various classes of nutraceuticals and their role in cancer prevention and treatment.•Mechanistic perspectives: how nutraceuticals inhibits cancer signaling pathways.•The impact of nanocarriers in enhancing the bioavailability and efficacy of nutraceuticals.•Recent trend towards combination of nutraceuticals and chemotherapeutic drugs using nanocarriers.

BackgroundIn recent years scientific community has drawn a great deal of attention on the phrase “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” coined by Hippocrates. Nutraceuticals are any food containing additives that have some medicinal benefits. They prevent the progression of cancer by downregulating the signal transduction pathways which are vital for the development of cancer. However, their clinical efficacy is limited due to poor aqueous solubility which ultimately leads to poor oral bioavailability. Therefore, to tackle these challenges, the scientific community has shifted its considerable interests towards nanocarriers based delivery of nutraceuticals due to its potential for enhancing bioavailability and efficacy.Scope and approachDifferent kinds of polymeric, lipid based and inorganic nanocarriers have been explored to enhance the bioavailability and clinical efficacy of nutraceuticals. In recent years, combination of chemotherapeutic drugs along with nutraceutical in a single nanocarrier have emerged due to its potential towards the concept of ‘magic bullet’ i.e. killing the cancer cells while preventing the toxicity towards normal cells.Key findings and conclusionsDespite an effective production process of nano-nutraceutical products, the quality, stability, efficacy and adverse effects should work out and address on priority. To exploit the full potential of nanocarriers further preclinical and clinical investigations are required with nano-formulated nutraceuticals.