Recent insights into the biological activities and drug delivery systems of tanshinones

Figures & data

Figure 1 Chemical structures of major tanshinones.

Figure 2 Biological activities of TNIIA, TNI, and CPT.

Abbreviations: TNIIA, tanshinone IIA; TNI, tanshinone I; CPT, cryptotanshinone.

Table 1 Various drug delivery systems of tanshinones

Drug delivery systems	Materials	Drugs	Advantages	Disadvantages
Liposomes	Cholesterol, soybean phospholipid	TNIIA, SB, and GA	Codelivery of three drugs to exert synergistic effects	Difficult to control the ratio of the drugs
Emulsion	Soybean phospholipid, pluronic F68, oleic acid, glycerol	TNIIA	Long-term stability and obvious anticancer activity	More than four kinds of materials may hinder the application of TNIIA emulsions
Lipid emulsion	Soybean lecithin, soybean oil and medium-chain triglyceride, pluronic F68, glycerol	TNIIA
Microemulsion	Phospholipid, ethyl oleate, pluronic F68, glycerol	TNIIA
Nanoemulsion	Tween 80, lecithin, etc	TNIIA
Cyclodextrin inclusion	2-Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin	TNIIA or CPT	Enhancement of gastrointestinal tract absorption of drugs	The temperature of cyclodetrin inclusion should be controlled critically
Solid dispersion	Nano-CaCO3,pluronic F68	TNIIA	Higher stability and superior oral bioavailability with potent pharmacological effects	No long circulation function to have higher efficacy against cancer
	Nano-hydroxyapatite	TNIIA
	Low molecular weight chitosan	TNIIA
	Copovidone	TNIIA
	Porous silica	TNIIA
	Povidone K-30	TNIIA, TNI or CPT
	Poloxamer 407	TNIIA, TNI or CPT
	Nano-silica, pluronic F68	TNIIA
	Polyvinylpyrrolidonoe K30, pluronic F68	TNIIA
Nanoparticles	Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide acid)	TNIIA, SB, and PNS	Sustained release of drugs and long circulation time in the human body with excellent pharmacological activities	No targeted delivery system with better cell uptake of drugs and minimal systemic side effects
	Cationic bovine serum albumin, PEGylated poly(lactic acid)	TNIIA
	Pluronic F68 coating solid lipid nanoparticles	TNIIA
	Polylactic acid	TNIIA
Pellets	Polyvinyl acetate and poly(vinyl alcohol)-poly(ethylene glycol) graft copolymer	TNIIA	Sustained release of drugs	No targeted delivery for better pharmacological effects
	Polyvinylpyrrolidone, pluronic F68	TNIIA
	Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, surelease	TNIIA
Micelles	D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate-graft-poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide), pluronic F68	TNIIA	Long circulation time and high bioavailability	No targeted delivery for better pharmacological effects

Abbreviations: TNIIA, tanshinone IIA; SB, salvianolic acid B; GA, glycyrrhetinic acid; CPT, cryptotanshinone; TNI, tanshinone I; PNS, panax notoginsenoside; PEG, polyethylene glycol.