Plant-based drug delivery systems in respiratory diseases

Abstract Pulmonary inflammation has become the hallmark for various respiratory diseases like acute respiratory syndrome (ARDS), asthma, chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD), and lung cancer. These diseases are now becoming a major health problem and burden on the aging population. To treat these disease antiinflammatory drugs are used, which reduces the chances of pulmonary inflammation. Due to the side effects of the allopathic drug, there has been a paradigm shift toward herbal medicine as they are safe and don’t have any side effect. Now, herbal medicine has gained the same attention as the ancient time all around the world. But the delivery system employed for administrating these herbal drugs is outdated and has reduced efficiency. Moreover, advancement in nanotechnology has enhanced the delivery of the medicine and the release of the therapeutic drug at the targeted site. Hence, this multidisciplinary approach is an effective way to bridge the gap between the material and medicinal science to develop a promising therapeutic solution. The benefits of using this nanocarrier system involve easy amendment of these nanocarriers, minimized drug degradation, and delivery of more amount of drug at the targeted site. This book chapter aims to discuss plant based nanocarrier systems that are effective in treating respiratory diseases.