Bio-enhancers are the compounds that enhance the bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients without itself having any pharmacological action. Most of them are of natural origin and do not have any side effects. They enhance the bioavailability by influencing variety of mechanisms involved in the drug action like penetration enhancement, improving metabolism, enzyme inhibition, drug targeting etc. Use of these compounds help to reduce the dose frequency which in turn reduces drug retention in turn causing the toxicity and it also helps in developing cost-effective products. Present days these are widely used to enhance the bioavailability of anti-bacterial, anti-viral, antibiotic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular drugs etc and effective drug targeting. The present review is designed to emphasize the importance of certain phytoconstituents working as bio-enhancers, their classification and different mechanisms of their activity.

Targeted delivery systems are the advanced systems where the active pharmaceutical ingredient is delivered accurately to the specific site for the necessary pharmacological action and better therapeutic Index. The main motto of these transport systems is to increase the drug activity at specific target sites with a low amount of drug as compared to high doses of conventional dosage forms. This helps to reduce the side effects of medication, as the drug acts directly at the specific tissues or cells and shows its intended action at the given concentration without getting dissipated in the other areas of the body or the surrounding environment. The evolution of these new approaches plays a vital role in the treatment of chronic diseases like diabetes, tumors, and cancer, etc. This context mainly talks about the delivery agents for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, delivery agents, and the recent advancements made in this area.