Chinese herbal medicines for treating ulcerative colitis via regulating gut microbiota-intestinal immunity axis

Yang Y, Wang Y, Zhao L, Wang F, Li M, Wang Q, Luo H, Zhao Q, Zeng J, Zhao Y, Du F, Chen Y, Shen J, Wei S, Xiao Z, Wu X · Chinese Herbal Medicines · 2023 April

DOI 10.1016/j.chmed.2023.03.003

Objective

To investigate the use of Chinese herbal medicines for treating ulcerative colitis by modulating the gut microbiota-intestinal immunity loop.

Conclusions

Chinese herbal medicines have shown a protective effect against ulcerative colitis by modulating gut microbiome and intestinal immunity, as supported by existing clinical trials.

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Insights

Chinese herbal medicines could potentially relieve ulcerative colitis by moderating the gut microbiota and intestinal immunity loop.

The study emphasizes on the possible use of Chinese herbal medicines, which include single herbs, herbal formulas and derived constituents, in treating ulcerative colitis (UC), a recurring inflammatory bowel disease. With a focus on how these medicines interact with and modify the gut microbiota, the mechanism involves regulating the intestinal homeostasis to counter UC. It deals with balancing microbial dysbiosis, or the imbalance of microbes in the body, and abnormal gut immunity, two key initiators of inflammatory responses in UC. The paper reviews several clinical trials which have been conducted, all exhibiting the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicines on patients diagnosed with UC. In the trials, these derived substances have shown a protective effect against UC, offering the potential possibility of them being explored as conventional methods of UC treatments in the future. Not every trial has resulted in absolute success, but the overall results are promising and indicate a robust potential direction for UC treatment science.