Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are phospholipid bilayer-enclosed biological particles that are secreted by almost all living cells including animals, plants, and microorganisms. Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) have a long history of using plant-based remedies to treat and prevent human diseases. Chinese herbal medicine-derived extracellular vesicle (CHMEV) generic term refers to nanoscale membrane structures isolated from medicinal plants such as ginseng, ginger, and Panax notoginseng. In recent years, CHMEVs have garnered substantial attention as a novel class of functional components due to their high bioavailability, safety, easy accessibility, and diverse therapeutic effects, indicating their great potential for development as a new dosage form of CHM. Research on CHMEVs in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has become a prominent area of interest, opening new avenues for further exploration into the therapeutic effects and functional mechanisms of CHM. Nonetheless, as an emerging field, there is much unknown about these vesicles, and current research remains inconsistent. The review comprehensively summarizes the biogenesis, isolation methods, and physical, and biochemical characterizations of CHMEVs. Additionally, we highlight their biomedical applications as therapeutic agents and drug delivery carriers, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, regenerative, and antiaging activities. Finally, we propose current challenges and future perspectives. By summarizing the existing literature, we aim to offer valuable clues and inspiration for future CHMEV research, thereby facilitating research standardization of CHMEVs in the treatment of human diseases and drug discovery.

Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) are nanoscale, phospholipid bilayer-enclosed vesicles secreted by living cells through cytokinesis under physiological and pathological conditions. Owing to their high biocompatibility and stability, PDEVs have attracted considerable interest in regenerative medicine applications. They can exhibit the capacity to enhance cellular proliferation, migration, and multi-lineage differentiation through immunomodulation, anti-inflammation effects, antioxidative protection, and tissue regeneration mechanisms. Given their abundant availability, favorable safety profile, and low immunogenicity risks, PDEVs have been successfully employed in therapeutic interventions for skeletal muscle disorders, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative conditions, and tissue regeneration applications. This review mainly provides a comprehensive overview of PDEVs, systematically examining their biological properties, standardized isolation and characterization methodologies, preservation techniques, and current applications in regenerative medicine. Furthermore, we critically discuss future research directions and clinical translation potential, aiming to facilitate the advancement of PDEV-based therapeutic strategies.

Plant-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (PDELNs) are nanoscale bilayered lipid vesicles secreted by plant cells that encapsulate a range of bioactive cargo

Cancer remains a leading cause of premature death worldwide, posing a significant burden due to its high incidence and mortality. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy remain the most well-established and effective modalities in the current oncological therapeutic arsenal. However, their efficacy is often limited by toxicities owing to their non-selective targeting of rapidly dividing cells and consequent damage to healthy tissues. In recent years, advances in nanomedicine and biotechnology have drawn increasing attention to plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) as an emerging, promising strategy for cancer therapy. As novel therapeutic vehicles, PDEVs offer key advantages, including high biocompatibility and low immunogenicity. However, their clinical translation has been significantly hampered by inherent limitations, including insufficient targeting specificity, low and uncontrollable drug-loading efficiency, and challenges in large-scale production and standardization. Current research is actively focused on overcoming these drawbacks through engineering strategies, for instance, surface modification with targeting peptides or antibodies to enhance targeting, alongside optimization of production and drug-loading processes. These developments underscore the potential of PDEVs as a promising platform for next-generation targeted cancer therapeutics. This review provides a comprehensive overview of PDEVs, covering their isolation, biogenesis, physicochemical properties, and anticancer applications. While summarizing these fundamental aspects, this review focuses on engineering strategies to enhance their active targeting capacity, offering theoretical insights to support their future role in cancer treatment.

Plant-derived vesicle-like nanoparticles (PDVLNs) are a unique class of natural nanomaterials secreted by plant cells. Endowed with intrinsic biocompatibility, minimal immunogenicity, and a molecular cargo rich in lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, and unique metabolites, PDVLNs exhibit significant potential in cancer treatment. With the development of diverse engineering strategies and loading methods, PDVLNs have been well established as an ideal drug delivery platform for transporting a broad spectrum of anti-cancer agents, including nucleic acids, proteins, and conventional chemotherapeutics. Notably, accumulating evidence highlights PDVLNs as a novel nanoplatform for combined cancer immunotherapy. This review systematically summarizes the biogenesis, isolation methods, compositions, and anti-tumor activity and mechanisms of PDVLNs, emphasizing their synergistic applications with cancer immunotherapies. Finally, it also discusses the challenges related to production optimization, delivery efficiency, safety issues, and clinical translation facing current research. In the future, as mechanistic insights deepen and nanotechnology advances, PDVLNs are poised to become next-generation immunomodulatory nanoplatforms for enhanced cancer immunotherapy.