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Table 4 Novel drug delivery systems for Chinese medicine applications

From: Novel drug delivery strategies for antidepressant active ingredients from natural medicinal plants: the state of the art

Route of administration type

Route of administration characteristics

References

New nanotechnology

Highly effective in increasing the solubility and dissolution rate of insoluble drugs

Reduced volume of drug delivery, reduced toxic effects

Nanomedicines can also impart new properties to drugs to improve bioavailability and clinical efficacy

[173, 174]

Regulation of intestinal flora

Regulates the metabolism of the intestinal flora by modulating the composition of the intestinal flora and/or by regulating the activity of the enzymes that catalyse the production of metabolites

This in turn leads to an increase or decrease in the content of certain metabolites, as well as the production of new metabolites or the disappearance of certain metabolites

[175]

Microenvironmental regulation methods

Provide new capabilities for various therapies by improving the stability of drugs in physiological fluids, controlling drug‒drug interactions in individual cells, and altering drug-target interactions

Drug modifications have been able to address the changing structural complexity, specificity and function of various formulations and are now being used in the further development of cellular therapies

[176, 177]