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Abstract
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One of the emerging and recent strategies to combat cancer is application of natural bioactive
compounds and phytochemicals. Carotenoids including lycopene, b -carotene, astaxanthin, crocin,
b-cryptoxanthin, and lutein, are the main group of plant pigments which play important roles in
the prevention and healing process of different diseases including cancer. The pharmacological
use of carotenoid compounds is frequently limited by their low bioavailability and solubility
as they are mainly lipophilic compounds. The present study focuses on the current data on
formulation of different carotenoid nanodelivery systems for cancer therapy and a brief overview
of the obtained results. Encapsulation of carotenoids within different nanocarriers is a remarkable
approach and innovative strategy for the improvement of health-promoting features and particu-larly, cancer prevention/treatment roles of these compounds through enhancing their solubility,
cellular uptake, membrane permeation, bioaccessibility, and stability. There is various nanocarrier
for loading carotenoids including polymeric/biopolymeric, lipid-based, inorganic, and hybrid
nanocarriers. Almost in all relevant studies, these nano delivery systems have shown promising
results in improving the efficiency of carotenoids in cancer therapy.
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