Complexation of phytochemicals with cyclodextrins and their derivatives- an update

Bioactive phytochemicals from natural source have gained tremendous interest over several decades due to their wide and diverse therapeutic activities playing key role as functional food supplements, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. Nevertheless, their application as therapeutically active moieties and formulation into novel drug delivery systems are hindered due to major drawbacks such as poor solubility, bioavailability and dissolution rate and instability contributing to reduction in bioactivity. These drawbacks can be effectively overcome by their complexation with different cyclodextrins. Present article discusses complexation of phytochemicals varying from flavonoids, phenolics, triterpenes, and tropolone with different natural and synthetic cyclodextrins. Moreover, the article summarizes complexation methods, complexation efficiency, stability, stability constants and enhancement in rate and extent of dissolution, bioavailability, solubility, in vivo and in vitro activities of reported complexed phytochemicals. Additionally, the article presents update of published patent details comprising of complexed phytochemicals of therapeutic significance. Thus, phytochemical cyclodextrin complexes have tremendous potential for transformation into drug delivery systems as substantiated by significant outcome of research findings.