Plant-derived extracellular vesicles for drug delivery: current and future

Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) have attracted considerable attention as natural drug delivery vehicles owing to their low immunogenicity, excellent biocompatibility, cross-kingdom delivery capability and intrinsic targeting properties. They naturally encapsulate a variety of bioactive components that can synergize with loaded drugs, while the vesicles exhibit good stability under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. This review focuses on the structure-property-function relationships of PDEVs in drug delivery. It systematically compares current drug loading strategies and evaluation approaches, particularly engineered loading technologies and composite delivery systems. Furthermore, it summarizes the applications of PDEV-based delivery systems in disease therapy, vaccine development, cosmetics and nutraceuticals. Finally, we propose an evaluation framework to facilitate clinical translation, providing theoretical support for advancing these systems toward practical use.