天然产物水凝胶是基于甾体类、三萜类、黄酮类、生物碱类及醌类等中药活性成分自组装形成的重要功能体系。此类天然产物凭借其特有的两亲性结构，借助疏水作用、π-π堆积、氢键及配位键等分子间作用力，可自发组装形成稳定的三维网络结构。天然产物水凝胶兼具“药载一体”的核心特性，在药物递送与疾病治疗领域展现出独特优势，具体包括生物黏附性、靶向定位能力、响应性触发释放及原位凝胶化等适配药物递送与疾病治疗需求的关键性能，可通过精准递送药物提升疾病治疗效果。然而，当前相关研究仍面临诸多重要挑战，许多天然产物的自组装路径与动态演变规律尚未完全阐明，直接限制了功能材料的精准构筑；同时，现有评价体系难以全面反映其体内药效，导致临床转化研究明显滞后。未来研究应着重于多层次自组装机制的系统解析，深入探索分子结构、组装动力学与宏观性能间的内在关联，及其在智能药物递送与疾病治疗中的应用，以期为天然产物功能材料的理性设计提供理论依据，为中药创新制剂研发与疾病精准治疗提供新的发展方向。

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.

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河南省高等学校重点科研项目（25A360016）；国家自然科学基金青年基金（82204736）；河南中医药大学科研苗圃工程项目（MP2024-03）；河南省卫生健康委国家中医临床研究基地科研专项（2022JDZX109）；河南省自然科学基金（252300423816，242300421522）