against folate-receptor-overexpressing cancers (MCF-7). The IC 50 values were
lowered by a factor of about three for folic acid-loaded NanoGSE compared to
the free drug, indicating substantially enhanced bioavailability to the tumor cells.
Receptor targeting of folic acid-loaded NanoGSE also resulted in a significant
increase in apoptotic index [173] (Fig. 11).
5 Conclusions
Nanoformulated nutraceuticals such as polyphenols and flavanoids, which
are derived from medicinal plants, provide a new insight for cancer treatment.
The mechanism of action of these dietary agents in chemoprevention has gained
considerable interest in the area of cancer research. This review has presented
several mechanisms explaining the chemopreventive potentials of curcumin,
EGCG, resveratrol, saponin, silymarin, and GSE. Their ability to target specific
Sugar
Sugar
Sugar
Sugar
Sugar
Sugar
Residual Amine functionalities
Saponins
Sugar
Sugar
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
OH
OH
HO
H 2 N
NH 2
NH 2
CSNPs
NH 2
HO
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
a
b
c
d
Fig. 10 (a) Hypothesized interactions of saponin within chitosan nanoparticles. (b) SEM image of
nanosaponin. (c, d) Fluorescent microscopy images of PC-3 cells treated with rhodamine-123labeled saponin nanoparticles [172]
232
S. Maya et al.