Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 16, 2024; 12(32): 6570-6574
Published online Nov 16, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i32.6570
Optimal traditional Chinese medicine formulas in treating ulcerative colitis: Choose one or take it all?
Yan Zeng, Jun-Wen Zhang, Jian Yang
Yan Zeng, Department of Psychology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
Jun-Wen Zhang, Jian Yang, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
Author contributions: Zhang JW and Yang J conceptualized and designed the research; Zeng Y and Yang J performed the literature search, analyzed the data, and wrote the original manuscript; Zhang JW and Yang J edited the final manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Education and Teaching Reform Project of the First Clinical College of Chongqing Medical University, No. CMER202305; and Natural Science Foundation of Tibet Autonomous Region, No. XZ2024ZR-ZY100(Z).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors decare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jian Yang, MD, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Youyi Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400016, China. yangjian@hospital.cqmu.edu.cn
Received: July 3, 2024
Revised: August 24, 2024
Accepted: September 5, 2024
Published online: November 16, 2024
Processing time: 82 Days and 10.5 Hours
Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that presents significant treatment challenges due to its complexity, especially in terms of the various side effects that traditional medications may bring during the chronic course of the disease. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has emerged as a promising complementary therapy for UC. Based on the latest research, our editorial explored the current issues and potential essential research directions for TCM in treating UC. We anticipate that future high-quality research will pave the way for the optimization of TCM formulas for UC and their broader global application.

Keywords: Traditional Chinese medicine; Ulcerative colitis; Inflammatory bowel disease; Formula; Treatment

Core Tip: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers a promising approach to treating ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that can be challenging to manage with conventional medical therapies. Exploring the optimal TCM formulas, addressing the concerns surrounding its efficacy, safety, standardization, and mode of action, and improving the quality of clinical research are all crucial for the wider acceptance and integration of TCM into global medical practice.