Biomaterial-mediated delivery of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients for spinal cord injury: a systematic review

Gang Liu; Zhenzhen Pei; Huizhong Bai; Luyao Huo; Bowen Deng; Shengyuan Jiang; Jingwei Tao; Lin Xu; Jinyu Li; Feng Gao; Xiaohong Mu

doi:10.3389/fphar.2024.1461708

Biomaterial-mediated delivery of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients for spinal cord injury: a systematic review

Front Pharmacol. 2024 Oct 31:15:1461708. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1461708. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Gang Liu^#¹, Zhenzhen Pei^#², Huizhong Bai¹, Luyao Huo¹, Bowen Deng³, Shengyuan Jiang¹, Jingwei Tao¹, Lin Xu¹, Jinyu Li¹, Feng Gao¹, Xiaohong Mu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopedics, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
² Guang'an Men Hospital, Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Division of Intelligent and Biomechanical System, State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Objective: Biomaterials loaded with ingredients derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are viewed as a promising strategy for treating spinal cord injury (SCI). However, a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature on this topic has not yet been conducted. Therefore, this paper systematically reviews researches related to this approach, aiming to identify gaps and shortcomings in the field.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for retrieving studies on biomaterials loaded with TCM ingredients published from their inception to October 2024. Two reviewers performed screening of search results, information extraction, and literature quality assessment independently.

Results: For this systematic review, 41 publications were included. Six TCM ingredients-paclitaxel, curcumin, tetramethylpyrazine, resveratrol, berberine, and tanshinone IIA were combined with biomaterials for treatment of SCI. Biomaterials were categorized into hydrogels, biodegradable scaffolds, nanoparticles, and microspheres according to the type of scaffold. These drug delivery systems exhibit commendable biocompatibility, drug-loading capacity, and drug-release capabilities, and in combination with TCM ingredients, synergistically contribute to anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anti-apoptotic effects.

Conclusion: These studies demonstrated the efficacy of biomaterials loaded with TCM ingredients in facilitating motor function recovery and neuroprotection in SCI rats, providing evidence for future research. However, in the complex microenvironment of SCI, achieving the maximum drug loading capacity of TCM ingredients within biomaterials, along with sustained and controlled release to fully exert their pharmacological effects, remains a major challenge for future research.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/ identifier CRD42024505000.

Keywords: biomaterials; hydrogels; scaffolds; spinal cord injury; traditional Chinese medicine ingredients.

Publication types

Systematic Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of the People’s Republic of China (grant no. 82305271).