©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 14, 2026; 32(10): 115821
Published online Mar 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i10.115821
Published online Mar 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i10.115821
Mechanisms and therapeutic potential of traditional Chinese medicine for inflammatory bowel disease
Si-Hui Zeng, Xiao-Yan Jiang, Wei-Jian Zhang, Yu-Qi Wu, Lin Xu, Shao-Ju Guo, Department of Spleen and Stomach Diseases, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China
De-Rong Lin, Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Dongguan Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Dongguan 523000, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Zeng SH and Guo SJ designed the research study; Zeng SH, Jiang XY, and Lin DR performed the literature search, screening, and data extraction; Zhang WJ and Wu YQ contributed to critical analysis and interpretation; Zeng SH, Jiang XY, and Lin DR analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Xu L acquired the funding; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82204994.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Shao-Ju Guo, Department of Spleen and Stomach Diseases, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, No. 1 Fuhua Road, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China. gsjgsjgsj2024@163.com
Received: October 27, 2025
Revised: December 9, 2025
Accepted: January 16, 2026
Published online: March 14, 2026
Processing time: 127 Days and 5.3 Hours
Revised: December 9, 2025
Accepted: January 16, 2026
Published online: March 14, 2026
Processing time: 127 Days and 5.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Inflammatory bowel disease management faces limitations with conventional therapies. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers a holistic, multi-target therapeutic strategy. This minireview elucidates how TCM treats inflammatory bowel disease by synergistically modulating immunity, repairing the intestinal barrier, restoring gut microbiota, and regulating inflammatory pathways and autophagy, thereby accelerating the modernization and integration of TCM into global healthcare.