Natural product hydrogels, self-assembled from active components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) such as steroids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, and quinones, represent a significant class of functional systems. Leveraging their intrinsic amphiphilic structures, these compounds spontaneously form stable three-dimensional networks through intermolecular interactions including hydrophobic effects, π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and coordination bonds. These hydrogels possess the core “drug-carrier integration” feature, offering unique advantages for drug delivery and disease therapy. Key properties such as bioadhesion, targeted localization, stimuli-responsive release, and in situ gelation enable precise drug delivery and enhanced therapeutic efficacy. However, significant challenges persist in this field: the self-assembly pathways and dynamic evolution mechanisms of many natural products remain incompletely elucidated, hindering the precise construction of functional materials. Furthermore, existing evaluation systems often fail to comprehensively reflect their in vivo pharmacological effects, resulting in a notable lag in clinical translation. Future research should, therefore, prioritize the systematic analysis of multi-level self-assembly mechanisms. This involves exploring the intrinsic relationships between molecular structure, assembly kinetics, and macroscopic properties, alongside their applications in intelligent drug delivery and therapy. Such efforts are expected to provide a theoretical basis for the rational design of natural product-based functional materials and to inform new directions for developing innovative TCM formulations and precision medicine.

natural products  /  hydrogel  /  self-assembly  /  intelligent drug delivery  /  amphiphilicity