Emergence of Edible Plant-Derived Nanovesicles as Functional Food Components and Nanocarriers for Therapeutics Delivery: Potentials in Human Health and Disease

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a highly heterogeneous population of membranous particles that are secreted by almost all types of cells across different domains of life, including plants. In recent years, studies on plant-derived nanovesicles (PDNVs) showed that they could modulate metabolic reactions of the recipient cells, affecting (patho)physiology with health benefits in a trans-kingdom manner. In addition to its bioactivity, PDNV has advantages over conventional nanocarriers, making its application promising for therapeutics delivery. Here, we discuss the characteristics of PDNV and highlight up-to-date pre-clinical and clinical evidence, focusing on therapeutic application.

Plant-Derived Exosome-like Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications and Regenerative Therapy

“…In recent years, studies have found that nano-sized EVs from plant cells have similar structures to the mammalian exosome [ 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ], which is why these EVs are termed as “plant-derived exosome-like nano-particles” with various abbreviations, such as PDELNs [ 68 ], PLENs [ 69 ], or PDENs [ 70 ]. Other descriptive terms include “plant-derived nanovesicles (PDNVs)” [ 71 ], “plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs)” [ 72 ], “plant-derived exosomes” [ 73 ], “plant-derived edible nanoparticles” [ 74 ], or “edible plant-derived nanovesicles” [ 75 ]. This review uses the term “plant-derived exosome nanoparticles”, which is abbreviated as PDENs.…”

“…Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles are still not as popular as mammalian-derived exosomes, which have been extensively investigated, but the research trend has been increasing [ 71 , 75 , 76 , 77 ]. This positive trend is driven by the idea that consumption of certain foods or their associated components is often linked to health benefits and disease risk reduction [ 75 ].…”

Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) in nanomedicine for human disease and therapeutic modalities

“…More importantly, in 2017, the evidence from the study by Rutter and Innes [ 14 ] indicated the promising biological activity of leaf apoplast-derived EVs in the cellular defense system. Subsequently, clarifying the biological roles and clinical applications of PDEVs has rapidly become an attractive research field [ 15 ]. Recent advances in PDEVs have demonstrated their several bioactivities, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative stress properties, in vitro and in vivo [ 16 ].…”

“…PDEVs can be obtained in large quantities due to the low cost of various plant resources. The plant-derived nanovesicles can be produced continuously from all kinds of fruits and vegetables purchased from conveniently located local markets [ 15 ]. Moreover, the plant cells in in vitro culture media could even be used to produce sufficient PDEVs [ 36 ].…”

“…It should be noted that environmental conditions critically affect the stability and biological activities of PDEVs. Moreover, the intrinsic properties of isolated PDEVs are subject to change with some physical parameters, including pH values, temperature, and other processing factors [ 3 , 15 ]. Under a simulated stomach condition, the PDEVs have the potential to resist gastric digestion and maintain high stability [ 60 ].…”