Treatment of gastric ulcer, traditional Chinese medicine may be a better choice

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Gastric ulcer (GU) is the injury of the gastric mucosa caused by the stimulation of various pathogenic factors penetrating the deep mucosal muscle layer. An increasing number of studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is highly effective in treating GU due to its multitarget, multilevel, and multi-pathway effects.

Aim of the study: To review the latest research progress in the treatment of GU by TCM, including clinical and experimental studies, focusing on the target and mechanism of action of drugs and providing a theoretical basis for the treatment of GU by natural herbs.

Materials and methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, Elsevier, Springer, Web of Science, and CNKI) were searched using the keywords "gastric ulcer", "gastric mucosal lesion", "TCM" and or paired with "peptic ulcer" and "natural drugs" for studies published in the last fifteen years until 2023.

Results: TCM, including single components of natural products, Chinese patent medicines (CPM), and TCM decoction, is expected to treat GU by regulating various mechanisms, such as redox balance, inflammatory factors, angiogenesis, gastric mucosal protective factors, intestinal flora, apoptosis, and autophagy.

Conclusions: We discussed and summarized the mechanism of TCM in the treatment of GU, which provided a sufficient basis for TCM treatment of GU.