On the use of nanotechnology-based strategies for association of complex matrices from plant extracts

Depending on the method of extraction, plant extracts can contain an enormous variety of active molecules, such as phenolic compounds, essential oils, alkaloids, among others. In many cases, from a pharmacological point of view, it is interesting to work with crude extract or fractions instead of a single isolated compound. This could be due to multi-targeting effect of the extract, lack of knowledge of the active compounds, synergistic effect of the extract compounds, among others. In any case, in order to achieve a final product some issues must be overcome, including poor stability, solvent toxicity, and low solubility of the bioactive compound. Recently many nanotechnology-based strategies have been proposed as an alternative to solve these problems, especially liposomes, nanoemulsions and nanoparticles. In this sense, the present work aims to review the main nanotechnological approaches used for association of different plant extracts and the main achievements from using these technologies.