Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles as emerging functional food carriers

Abstract

Background: This review connects emerging research on plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PDENs) with functional food science, highlighting opportunities to improve standardization, translational validation, and product development for gut-health applications. 

PDENs are small (30–150 nm) lipid-bound vesicles derived from edible plants that are structurally and functionally similar to mammalian exosomes. They serve as natural carriers of bioactive molecules—including proteins, lipids, and miRNAs—supporting antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and therapeutic effects, while also offering high stability, low toxicity, and cost-effective, high-yield production.

PDENs isolated from edible plants (e.g., ginger, grape, grapefruit, citrus, tea, aloe) carry bioactive cargo—lipids, proteins, metabolites, and nucleic acids—and may remain functionally active during gastrointestinal transit, enabling interactions at the intestinal interface. Interest is growing because PDENs may act as both intrinsic functional components and food-native delivery platforms that influence gut–immune outcomes. However, key uncertainties remain, including inconsistent terminology, scalable isolation and characterization, dosing conventions, stability in real food matrices, and the extent to which proposed cross-kingdom and microbiome-mediated mechanisms translate to humans.

This review evaluates the current evidence base with emphasis on gut inflammation, barrier resilience, mucosal immune balance, and microbiome-directed effects as functional food targets. It also addresses commercialization barriers such as plant- and processing-driven batch variability, co-isolated impurities that complicate functional attribution, and safety considerations for concentrated preparations. Finally, the article discusses how PDEN products fit within regulatory frameworks for novel and concentrated ingredients and proposes a practical development pathway that prioritizes harmonized quality benchmarks, transparent reporting aligned with extracellular vesicle standards, and stepwise human feasibility studies using validated biomarkers.

Novelty: This review applies a functional food development framework to PDEN research by connecting vesicle characterization, food-grade formulation, regulatory planning, and biomarker-based human validation into one translational approach. It links emerging PDEN mechanisms in gut and immune health with practical product development needs, highlights key barriers such as inconsistent terminology, batch variability, dosing uncertainty, and limited human data, and proposes stepwise solutions to support evidence-based translation into functional food carriers for gut–immune support.

Keywords: Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles; Intestinal barrier integrity; Gut inflammatory balance; Microbiome modulation; Food-grade standardization; MISEV-aligned characterization; Biomarker-based human studies; Functional ingredients; Regulatory translation; Gut-health applications