Colon cancer ranks among the most prevalent and lethal cancers worldwide. Lifestyle and dietary factors—such as high consumption of processed foods, red meat, and alcohol, coupled with sedentary behavior—are key contributors to its development. Despite the availability of standard treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, colon cancer remains a significant cause of cancer-related deaths. These conventional approaches are often limited by severe side effects, toxicity, recurrence, and the emergence of drug resistance, highlighting the urgent need for alternative therapeutic strategies. Essential oils are a potential cancer-treatment candidate owing to their diverse composition and favorable safety profile. Numerous studies have revealed essential oils’ promising cytotoxic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects, supporting their potential role in cancer prevention and treatment. Nevertheless, applying volatile oils to the colon faces several limitations, mainly due to their low bioavailability. Furthermore, conditions within the gastrointestinal tract also contribute to the reduced therapeutic efficacy of essential oils. Novel and promising strategies have been developed to overcome the limitations associated with the application of essential oils. The utilization of targeted drug delivery systems has improved the stability of essential oils and enhanced their therapeutic potential in colon cancer treatment. Moreover, even though essential oils cannot replace conventional chemotherapy, they can mitigate some of its adverse effects and improve the efficacy of associated chemotherapy drugs. This review explores the potential of essential oils and their bioactive compounds in colon cancer therapy and highlights current advancements in micro- and nanoencapsulation techniques for their targeted delivery to the colon.

Imatinib (IMT) is a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that primarily targets platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β and related kinases. Beyond its established efficacy in chronic myeloid leukemia, IMT has also demonstrated therapeutic benefits in gastrointestinal stromal tumors, dermatofibrosarcoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and as a second-line treatment for aggressive systemic mastocytosis or as an anti-Mycobacterium agent. From a physicochemical perspective, IMT exhibits poor aqueous solubility but high membrane permeability, classifying it as a Biopharmaceutics Classification System Class II compound. Pharmacokinetically, IMT shows variable oral absorption and a prolonged terminal half-life, resulting in dose-dependent systemic exposure. Despite relatively high oral bioavailability, its clinical use requires large doses to achieve therapeutic efficacy, underscoring the need for advanced drug delivery strategies. Nano- and microscale delivery systems offer promising approaches to enhance tumor-specific accumulation through the enhanced permeability and retention effect while mitigating resistance mechanisms. However, achieving high drug loading introduces formulation challenges, such as controlling particle size distribution, polydispersity, and scalability. Moreover, designing carriers capable of controlled release without premature leakage remains crucial for maintaining systemic bioavailability and therapeutic performance. Emerging delivery platforms—including polymeric, lipid-based, carbon-derived, and stimuli-responsive nanocarriers—have shown significant potential in overcoming these limitations. Such systems can enhance IMT’s bioavailability, improve selective tumor targeting, and minimize systemic toxicity, thereby advancing its translational potential. This review aims to highlight the different biomedical applications of IMT and off-label uses, and to discuss current advances in drug delivery to optimize its clinical efficacy and safety profile.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used for the management of inflammatory disorders, pain, and fever due to their significant anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties. However, their long-term use is often associated with multiple adverse effects, including gastric erosion, hemorrhage, and perforation, as well as cardiovascular, hepatic, and renal complications. Indomethacin is a potent NSAID commonly used in the treatment of pain and rheumatoid arthritis. Its poor water solubility, Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) Class II, results in low aqueous solubility and high membrane permeability, and conventional dosage forms often fail to overcome pharmacokinetic limitations and gastrointestinal irritation. To address these drawbacks, alternative indomethacin-loaded drug delivery systems have been developed, which enable controlled release, enhanced solubility, and targeted delivery for improving therapeutic efficacy and safety profile. Nature provides a diverse reservoir of bioactive compounds with significant anti-inflammatory potential, making them promising alternatives or complementary agents to indomethacin. Representative examples include the alkaloids piperine and berberine; the flavonoids oleocanthal and apigenin; and the terpenoids thymoquinone, kahweol, and cafestol; as well as anthraquinones and iridoids. This review summarizes the current evidence on plant-derived anti-inflammatory compounds that may “replace” or act synergistically with indomethacin. In addition, we discuss the pharmacological properties of indomethacin and recent advances in drug delivery systems designed to improve its topical and systemic therapeutic applications.

Introduction : Red yeast rice (RYR)-containing food supplements (FSs) are widely used. However, considerable variability in their pharmaceutical-technological quality has been reported, highlighting the need for systematic evaluation. Aim : This study aimed to evaluate the pharmaceutical-technological characteristics of RYR-containing FSs and explore possible differences according to the declared formulation composition and dosage form. Materials and methods : A total of 15 commercially available FSs containing RYR were evaluated, including coated and uncoated tablets, as well as hard and soft gelatin capsules. Mass uniformity, mechanical strength, resistance to crushing, friability of uncoated tablets, and disintegration were evaluated according to the requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.), 12 ^th edition. Results : The friability of all uncoated tablets was below 1%, with the lowest value being 0.12%. Mechanical strength ranged from 58.6 to 280 N. The sample with the highest mechanical strength also exhibited the lowest friability and the longest disintegration time. Disintegration times varied from 5 to 40 min and were generally shorter for capsules than for tablets. Two hard gelatin capsule samples failed the mass uniformity test, whereas all four uncoated tablet samples exceeded the pharmacopeial disintegration limits. Discussion : The observed differences may reflect variations in formulation composition and excipient content. Microcrystalline cellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and hypromellose may contribute to mechanical resistance, whereas starch and croscarmellose may promote disintegration. Lipophilic components and plant extracts may also affect dosage-form properties. Conclusion : Some RYR-containing FSs complied with all applicable Ph. Eur. requirements, whereas others showed deviations in mass uniformity or disintegration. The findings demonstrate variability among commercially available products and support the need for systematic pharmaceutical-technological quality assessment.

Metal nanoparticles such as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have attracted considerable scientific interest due to their diverse properties, some of which are antimicrobial, anticancer, and wound healing. Plant-mediated green synthesis offers an alternative to conventional physical and chemical methods for the preparation of nanostructures. It uses phytochemicals such as flavonoids, phenols, and alkaloids as natural reducing and capping agents. However, stand-alone green AgNPs face significant limitations, including batch-to-batch variability, colloidal instability, and uncontrolled ion release. This review provides a comparative evaluation of plant-mediated green AgNPs and advanced biohybrid nanostructures—including polymer, lipid, and hydrogel systems. Preparation/synthesis conditions, particle size, zeta potential, and biological applications are summarized. The comparison shows that biohybrid systems significantly improve colloidal stability, enable sustained and tunable drug release, and improve biocompatibility compared to single nanoparticles. In addition, biohybrid systems offer greater formulation flexibility (films, hydrogels, liposomes, nanocomposites) for targeted drug delivery, antimicrobial therapy, and environmental remediation. These findings highlight the potential of green biohybrid AgNPs as next-generation platforms for applications in various fields of life. Along with this, the need for standardized synthesis protocols and comprehensive safety assessments before their clinical application is also highlighted.