Seeds as Drug Delivery Systems: Mechanisms, Formulation Strategies, and Recent Advances (2020–2026)

Abstract

Background: Seed derived excipients, including mucilages, polysaccharides, fixed oils, and proteins, have garnered significant attention as sustainable, biocompatible, and functional components in pharmaceutical drug delivery systems. Their unique physicochemical properties including swellability, mucoadhesion, biodegradability, and stimuli responsiveness make them versatile platforms for controlled, targeted, and site-specific drug delivery.

Objectives: This review comprehensively examines the classification, extraction, characterization, and pharmaceutical applications of seed derived materials as drug delivery excipients, with a focused analysis of advances published between 2020 and 2026.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using keywords: 'seed drug delivery', 'seed mucilage formulation', 'natural polysaccharide nanoparticles', and related terms. Over 120 peer-reviewed publications from 2020–2026 were screened; 70 were included based on relevance and quality.

Results and Conclusion: Seed based systems demonstrated remarkable versatility across oral, topical, ocular, and parenteral routes. Recent innovations include stimuli responsive hydrogels, nanostructured lipid carriers, 3D/4D-printed devices, and AI-guided formulation optimization. These systems significantly enhanced drug bioavailability, reduced systemic toxicity, and enabled precision targeting. Despite promising results, challenges such as regulatory standardization, batch to batch variability, and scale-up remain. Future directions include machine learning assisted formulation design and exosome mimetic seed nanovesicles.