Drug Delivery and Repurposing Approaches for Albendazole Formulations

Abstract

According to World Health Organization (WHO) reports, parasitic infections substantially affect the world’s population and are responsible for more than 16 million annual deaths in developing countries. Trichomoniasis, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, and toxoplasmosis, the most common helminthic infections in humans, are treated with anthelmintics and antibiotics that achieve synergistic effects. The key anthelmintic drug Albendazole (ABZ) has drawbacks of low solubility. Anthelmintics fall under biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) class II and are therefore administered through conventional approaches and novel nanomedicine techniques to enhance their biopharmaceutical properties and therapeutic efficacy. This review examined the literature on anthelmintics with appreciable benefits. Because the nanomedicine development of ABZ was contemporaneous with its repurposing as an anticancer agent, with or without nanoformulation, this review also addresses the repositioning of ABZ to treat diverse cancers including colon cancer, brain tumors, malignant melanoma, and breast cancer.

Keywords

ABZ / anthelmintic / anticancer / drug delivery / nanomedicine / parasitic infection

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