Frontiers of Plant-derived Exosomes from Research Methods to Pharmaceutical Applications in Plant-based Therapeutics

Exosomes have emerged as critical mediators of intercellular communication and various physiological processes between cells and their environment. These nano-sized vesicles have been extensively investigated and confirmed to exhibit multifunctionality in animal systems. In particular, they participate in intercellular signaling, influence disease progression, and exhibit biological activity. However, Plant-Derived Exosomes (PDEs), especially therapeutic PDEs, have received relatively limited attention in the past few decades. Recent studies have demonstrated that PDEs are involved in signaling molecule transport in addition to intercellular communication, as they serve as functional molecules in the cellular microenvironment. This characteristic highlights the immense potential of PDEs for a wide array of applications, including antioxidation, anti-inflammation, tumour cell elimination, immune modulation, and tissue regeneration. In addition, PDEs hold substantial promise as efficient drug carriers, enhancing the stability and bioavailability of therapeutic agents and consequently enabling targeted delivery to specific cells or tissues. Therefore, PDEs may serve as effective tools for drug delivery and the treatment of various diseases. This comprehensive review provides an overview of recent studies on therapeutic PDEs, focusing on their extraction, isolation, characterization methods, biological activities, and application prospects. It summarises the research progress of exosome-like nanovesicles derived from medicinal plants, with a specific emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine, and highlights their importance in disease treatment and nanoparticle delivery. The main objective is to accelerate the clinical translation of these nanovesicles while providing novel approaches and methodologies for the research and development of innovative drugs.