Engineered Delivery Systems for Chinese Herbal Medicine in Peripheral Nerve Regeneration: Challenges, Advances, and Future Perspectives

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Peripheral neuropathy (PN), characterized by sensory, motor, and autonomic dysfunction, presents a significant therapeutic challenge owing to its diverse etiologies, dynamic spatiotemporal injury microenvironment, and impermeable blood-nerve barrier (BNB). The current treatment is mainly palliative and symptom-focused, and fails to solve the core pathological complexity, including the heterogeneity of nerve injury, the conflicting phases of inflammation, repair, and fibrosis, and the imbalance of the microenvironment in chronic conditions such as diabetes. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has multiple benefits including neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and microenvironmental regulation. However, its clinical translation is hindered by poor bioavailability, non-targeted biodistribution, BNB exclusion, and physicochemical mismatches in multicomponent formulations. Preclinical studies suggest that engineered delivery systems could emerge as a transformative solution to these limitations. Nanocarriers penetrate the BNB via diffusion or ligand-mediated targeting, offering spatiotemporal control through a stimulus-responsive design. Hydrogels align their degradation processes with nerve regeneration and correct the imbalanced microenvironments. Degradable membranes offer localized, sustained release, whereas functionalized nerve conduits address structural defects and i

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.