Plant Extracellular Vesicles: Investigating Their Utilization as Beneficial Nutrients in Diet

Abstract

Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from seeds, leaves, and fruits have shown a significant therapeutic potential for their anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The ability to transport bioactive molecules and the low toxicity give EVs remarkable versatility in the field of nanomedicine for the development of drug delivery systems. Moreover, the physicochemical stability in gastric and intestinal fluids makes them the ideal candidate as nutritional carriers in oral formulations. It is well known that the consumption of antioxidant molecules from dietary plant sources, such as fruits and vegetables, can prevent pathologies caused by oxidative damage, including inflammatory and cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, aging, and cancer. EVs present in plant juices are receiving a lot of interest concerning their biological relevance in terms of their health benefits. EVs from food might be new components participating in body homeostasis, as they are in contact with the intestinal tract. This review aims to report and discuss the main biological properties and nutraceutical use of plant-derived EVs as promising therapeutic tools, with a focus on anti-oxidant effect and as a basis in developing new food-derived technology.