Plant exosomes: A natural medicine for oral cancer

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles produced from endosomes. It carries proteins, lipids, DNA, and RNA.¹ They are found in several body fluids.² In general, is involved as a cell signalling molecule in cellular systems, and plays a vital role in several health complications.^{3, 4} Exosome-associated molecular cargo has a significant role in cancer biomarker instigation and therapeutic development.⁵ In cancer therapeutic development, exosomes develop a new platform and it is a cell-free approach.⁶ Several sources of exosomes are used as cancer therapeutics such as exosomes derived from immune cells, stem cells, plants, modified exosomes (chemically and genetically modified), tumour cells.⁷ Plant-derived exosomes (PDExo) show a significant role in cancer healing.⁸ Compared to other sources, it is toxicologically safer.⁷ PDExo is a potential therapeutic tool for oral cancer.⁸ Sources of PDExo are fruit, vegetables, and different parts of plants.⁷ PDExo offers an alternative, addressing limitations and expanding sources, marking a promising avenue in exosome research in oral oncology. Its biological activity performs reprogramming the cells toward normal health.⁹ PDExo has become the solution to several pathological complications.⁹ It also has anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant characteristics. It is an effective green drug delivery approach.^{8, 9} This therapeutic source is more effective due to its biocompatibility, less immune reactivity, low toxicity, and ability to cross biological barriers.⁹ It is effective compared to the stem cell-derived exosome-based therapeutic approach (because stem cell-derived exosomes promote cancer or inhibit cancer).⁷ Toxicologically, it is safe as compared to other synthetic exosomes such as engineered and modified exosomes.^{7, 9} Clinical trial data (source: https://clinicaltrials.gov/) indicated that in the future, PDExo can become an effective treatment approach for oral cancer (NCT01668849). This domain of research still has some questions unsolved, such as exosome heterogeneity (exosome origin, molecular diversity),¹⁰ standard insolation protocol, proper molecular profiling, environmental impact on plant exosomes, drug loading standard protocol development, and investigation of phytochemical involvement in anticancer functions of PDExo. Currently, several technological developments like single exosome profiling,¹⁰ exosome barcoding¹¹, and advanced nanotechnology (sensor, microfluidic device for highly purified exosome isolation)¹ address this complication. Plant-based exosomes represent a promising frontier for therapy in oral cancer. In the future, medicinal PDExo-based oral cancer therapeutics may support the development of natural, effective, and affordable solutions for oral cancer.

Sidhanti Nyahatkar and Ketki Kalele contributed to the preparation and collection of original literature, writing and editing of the manuscript.

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Not applicable.