Nanocarrier-enabled delivery of natural antiobesity agents

Obesity has become a global epidemic, significantly impacting public health and contributing to the rise of metabolic syndrome, which is closely linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and certain cancers. Despite the availability of lifestyle interventions, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery, current treatment strategies often face limitations, including poor efficacy, adverse effects, and low patient compliance. Natural compounds such as polyphenols, alkaloids, saponins, and anthraquinones have emerged as promising alternatives because of their multitargeted actions and relatively favorable safety profiles. However, their clinical applications are often hindered by poor solubility, chemical instability, limited bioavailability, and even potential toxicity. Recent advances in nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, including liposomes, lipid-based carriers, polymeric nanoparticles, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), and extracellular vesicles, offer effective solutions to increase the therapeutic efficacy of these natural bioactive compounds. This review provides an overview of obesity and its associated risks, and the therapeutic potential of natural compounds for obesity-related complications, highlights how nanoformulations improve antiobesity effects, and discusses current challenges and future directions for translating these nano-enabled strategies into clinical practice. Relevant literature was collected from databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, focusing on natural bioactives, obesity, and nanoparticle-assisted drug delivery.