Pharmaceutical manipulation of citrus flavonoids towards improvement of its bioavailability and stability. A mini review and a meta-analysis study

Citrus flavonoids are well recognized for their health benefits and contribution to daily nutritional dietary supplements. Their biological effects include anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Nevertheless, their low solubility, stability, and bioavailability challenge their potential industrial formulations. This review summarizes the state-of-the art optimization of citrus flavonoid formulations representing the possible physicochemical modifications and their potential implications. These modifications could be achieved using different techniques such as nanonization and encapsulation in nanoscale carriers. This review summarizes the recent research on chemical modifications of citrus flavonoids to facilitate their commercial use and or applications. Applications of these technologies are presented to the reader highlighting their advantages, limitations and needed future improvements. Furthermore, a meta-analysis study was conducted to prove-by-evidence the superiority of drugs-loaded nanocarriers regarding bioavailability compared to their conventionally delivered counterparts.