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Background <p>Despite significant advances in oncology, cancer therapy remains constrained by systemic toxicity, limited tumor selectivity, and the progressive emergence of drug resistance. These limitations have intensified interest in multi-target, biologically active compounds with improved safety profiles. Phytochemicals derived from fruit and vegetable waste streams represent a sustainable yet underutilized source of such agents, whose clinical translation increasingly relies on nanotechnological intervention.</p> Main body <p>This review analyzes how nanotechnology facilitates the transformation of waste-derived phytochemicals into clinically relevant anticancer systems, positioning sustainability as a functional advantage rather than a primary endpoint. Recent advances in extraction, stabilization, and nanoencapsulation of key phytochemical classes, including polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, carotenoids, and organosulfur compounds, are synthesized and discussed within established anticancer mechanisms such as redox modulation, cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis induction, immune regulation, and metastasis inhibition. Particular emphasis is placed on nanostructured delivery platforms, including nanoemulsions, polymeric nanoparticles, and hybrid nanocarriers, with attention to how physicochemical attributes govern bioavailability, stability, tumor-responsive release, and overall therapeutic efficacy. Beyond their direct cytotoxic effects, waste-derived phytochemicals are increasingly integrated as adjuvants in combinatorial nanomedicine, enhancing chemosensitivity, mitigating off-target toxicity, and contributing to resistance modulation.</p> Conclusion <p>By integrating molecular anticancer mechanisms with formulation engineering and translational considerations, this review positions waste-derived phytochemicals as credible inputs for next-generation anticancer nanomedicine, advancing both therapeutic innovation and circular bioeconomy principles.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Sustainable nanomedicine: exploiting fruit and vegetable waste-derived extracts for targeted anticancer application

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月25日

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  • Nouran S. Sharaf,
  • Amro Shetta,
  • Razan Farrag,
  • Noha El Salakawy,
  • Wael Mamdouh

摘要

Background

Despite significant advances in oncology, cancer therapy remains constrained by systemic toxicity, limited tumor selectivity, and the progressive emergence of drug resistance. These limitations have intensified interest in multi-target, biologically active compounds with improved safety profiles. Phytochemicals derived from fruit and vegetable waste streams represent a sustainable yet underutilized source of such agents, whose clinical translation increasingly relies on nanotechnological intervention.

Main body

This review analyzes how nanotechnology facilitates the transformation of waste-derived phytochemicals into clinically relevant anticancer systems, positioning sustainability as a functional advantage rather than a primary endpoint. Recent advances in extraction, stabilization, and nanoencapsulation of key phytochemical classes, including polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, carotenoids, and organosulfur compounds, are synthesized and discussed within established anticancer mechanisms such as redox modulation, cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis induction, immune regulation, and metastasis inhibition. Particular emphasis is placed on nanostructured delivery platforms, including nanoemulsions, polymeric nanoparticles, and hybrid nanocarriers, with attention to how physicochemical attributes govern bioavailability, stability, tumor-responsive release, and overall therapeutic efficacy. Beyond their direct cytotoxic effects, waste-derived phytochemicals are increasingly integrated as adjuvants in combinatorial nanomedicine, enhancing chemosensitivity, mitigating off-target toxicity, and contributing to resistance modulation.

Conclusion

By integrating molecular anticancer mechanisms with formulation engineering and translational considerations, this review positions waste-derived phytochemicals as credible inputs for next-generation anticancer nanomedicine, advancing both therapeutic innovation and circular bioeconomy principles.

Graphical abstract