Emodin-Based Drug Delivery Systems: Therapeutic Applications in Inflammatory Diseases

Abstract

Inflammatory diseases pose a major global health challenge, encompassing a wide range of chronic conditions driven by persistent inflammation. Emodin is a natural anthraquinone compound extracted from traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, exhibiting remarkable anti-inflammatory properties by regulating multiple inflammation-related signaling pathways. Despite its promising applications in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, issues such as poor water solubility, low bioavailability, rapid metabolism, and potential toxicity have limited its clinical translation. This review systematically reviews drug delivery systems (DDS) designed to overcome these limitations, with a focus on technological platforms including nanoparticles, liposomes, microspheres, nanocapsules, self-emulsifying systems, and microbubbles. Studies have shown that these platforms, through stimulus-responsive mechanisms and various targeting strategies, can significantly enhance emodin’s solubility, stability, targeted delivery, and sustained-release effects, thereby improving bioavailability, reducing systemic toxicity, and strengthening anti-inflammatory efficacy. This review emphasizes the analysis of the design principles, mechanisms of action, and translational prospects of each system, while discussing challenges such as biocompatibility, stability, and scalable production, to fully exploit emodin’s multi-target therapeutic potential and provide valuable references for researchers engaged in the development of anti-inflammatory DDS.