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World J Clin Cases. Dec 16, 2021; 9(35): 10781-10791
Published online Dec 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i35.10781
Application of traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection
Ru-Jia Li, Yuan-Yuan Dai, Chun Qin, Gan-Rong Huang, Yan-Chun Qin, Yong-Yi Huang, Zan-Song Huang, Xian-Ke Luo, Yan-Qiang Huang
Ru-Jia Li, Yuan-Yuan Dai, Chun Qin, Gan-Rong Huang, Yan-Chun Qin, Yong-Yi Huang, Zan-Song Huang, Yan-Qiang Huang, Research Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Drug Resistant Microbial Infections, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Xian-Ke Luo, National Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning 530001, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Author contributions: Li RJ, Dai YY, Qin C, Huang GR, Qin YC, and Huang YY performed literature review and wrote the first draft; Huang ZS corrected and improved the manuscript; Huang YQ and Luo XK designed, checked, modified, and finalized the manuscript, and they contributed equally to this work and should be considered as co-corresponding authors; and all authors proofread the revised manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81760739 and No. 32060018.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests to disclose.
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: Yan-Qiang Huang, MD, PhD, Professor, Research Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Drug Resistant Microbial Infections, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, No. 98 Countryside Road, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. hyq77615@163.com
Received: August 10, 2021
Peer-review started: August 10, 2021
First decision: September 2, 2021
Revised: September 7, 2021
Accepted: October 20, 2021
Article in press: October 20, 2021
Published online: December 16, 2021
Processing time: 121 Days and 22.2 Hours
Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has a high rate of infection and antibiotic resistance and poses a serious threat to human life. One of the main strategies to overcome drug resistance is to develop new treatment plans. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is commonly used to treat many diseases in China can reduce drug resistance and increase the eradication rate of H. pylori. In this paper, we review the research progress on TCM in the treatment of H. pylori infection. The mechanism of action of TCM is reviewed and research and applications of TCM in the treatment of H. pylori are demonstrated. Finally, we discuss problems confronting the use of TCM for the treatment of H. pylori infection and propose possible solutions. In addition, the plans of TCM in H. pylori treatment were also screened: Dampness-heat syndrome in the spleen and stomach, deficiency of spleen and stomach, and cold-heat complicated syndrome, and the effective components therein are studied. The antibacterial effect of TCM is relatively slow; for rapid improvement of the treatment effect of refractory H. pylori gastritis, we provide an appropriate treatment regime combining TCM and Western medicine with immune-regulatory and synergistic antibacterial effects.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Traditional Chinese medicine; Treatment; Antibacterial effect; Antibiotic resistance

Core Tip: With the widespread use of antibiotics, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has a high rate of infection and antibiotic resistance, posing a serious threat to human life. The development of new drugs is difficult. One of the main strategies to overcome drug resistance is to develop new treatment plans. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is commonly used to treat many diseases in China, and it can reduce drug resistance and increase eradication rates of H. pylori. which is recognized by most patients. In this paper, the treatment plans of TCM in H. pylori treatment are screened out: Dampness-heat syndrome in the spleen and stomach, deficiency spleen and stomach, cold-heat complicated syndrome, and the effective components are analyzed. It is recommended that doctors choose appropriate integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine treatments based on the dialectical type of TCM etiology and the characteristics of H. pylori resistance. The program provides new methods and new ideas for the radical cure of H. pylori infection.