Technology for improving the bioavailability of small molecules extracted from traditional Chinese medicines

Evidence that small molecules extracted from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have beneficial effects on health is increasingly being reported in the scientific literature and these compounds are now widely recognized as potential therapeutic drugs. There have been several detailed studies of the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of these compounds in rats and humans. However, some active components have low bioavailability owing to their unsuitable physicochemical and biopharmaceutical characteristics, resulting in differences in vivo. The main problem in using natural products as a source of pharmaceutical lead compounds is the need to improve the bioavailability of these compounds. This review presents and discusses the current methods used for improvement and their impact on the bioavailability of some new pharmaceutical lead compounds from TCMs.