Department of Anorectal Surgery, Longhua Hospital Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Department of Anorectal surgery, Suzhou TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2024 Apr;397(4):2083-2103. doi: 10.1007/s00210-023-02786-x. Epub 2023 Oct 23.
Constipation is a prevalent clinical ailment of the gastrointestinal system, yet its pathogenesis remains ambiguous. Despite the availability of numerous treatment modalities, they are insufficient in resolving the issue for patients. This work conducted a comprehensive review of the existing literature pertaining to the utilization of natural products for the treatment of constipation, with a focus on the efficacy of natural products in treating constipation, and to provide a comprehensive summary of their underlying mechanisms of action. Upon conducting a thorough review of the extant literature, we found that natural products can effectively treat constipation as modern synthetic drugs and compounded drugs with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) effects, rich in fiber and mucus, and the effects of increasing the tension of the ileum and gastrointestinal tract muscle, mediating signaling pathways, cytokine, excitability of the smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract, and regulating the homeostasis of intestinal flora. However, there is a wide variety of natural products, and there are still relatively few studies; the composition of natural products is complex, and the mechanism of action of natural products cannot be clarified. In the future, we need to further improve the detailed mechanism of natural products for the treatment of constipation.
便秘是一种常见的胃肠道系统临床疾病，但发病机制尚不清楚。尽管有许多治疗方法，但对患者来说，这些方法还不足以解决问题。本工作对天然产物治疗便秘的应用进行了全面的文献回顾，重点介绍了天然产物治疗便秘的疗效，并对其作用机制进行了全面总结。通过对现有文献的深入研究，我们发现天然产物可以有效地治疗便秘，与现代合成药物和具有乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）作用的复方药物一样，富含纤维和粘液，能够增加回肠和胃肠道肌肉的张力，调节信号通路、细胞因子、胃肠道平滑肌的兴奋性，调节肠道菌群的平衡。然而，天然产物种类繁多，研究相对较少；天然产物的成分复杂，其作用机制尚不清楚。未来，我们需要进一步完善天然产物治疗便秘的详细机制。
