School of biomedical sciences, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, Hunan, China; Hunan Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine (The Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Changsha, 410006, Hunan, China; Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, 410006, Hunan, China.
Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, 410208, Hunan, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2025 Jan 30;337(Pt 3):119008. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.119008. Epub 2024 Oct 28.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine Formulas (TCMFs) represent a distinctive medical approach to disease treatment and have been utilized in clinical practice for treating intestinal diseases for thousands of years. Recently, TCMFs have received increasing attention due to their advantages of high efficiency, safety, as well as low toxicity, providing promising strategies for preventing colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Nonetheless, the potential mechanism of TCMFs in preventing CRC has not been fully elucidated.
The literature from the past three years was reviewed to highlight the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of TCMFs in preventing CRC.
The keywords have been searched, including "traditional Chinese medicine formulas," "herb pairs," "Herbal plant-derived nanoparticles," et al. in "PubMed" and "China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)," and screened published articles related to the treatment of intestinal precancerous lesions. This review primarily examined the effectiveness and mechanisms of TCMFs in treating intestinal precancerous lesions, highlighting their significant potential in preventing CRC.
Gegen Qinlian decoction, Shaoyao decoction, Wu Wei Wan, etc., exert substantial therapeutic effects on intestinal precancerous lesions. These therapeutic effects are demonstrated by a reduction in disease activity index scores, suppression of intestinal inflammation, and preservation of body weight and intestinal function, all of which contribute to the effective prevention of CRC. Besides, the classic Chinese herbal pairs and the extracellular vesicle-like nanoparticles of herbaceous plants have demonstrated superior efficacy in the treatment of intestinal precancerous lesions. Mechanistically, protecting the epithelial barrier, regulating gut microbiota as well as related metabolism, modulating macrophage polarization, and maintaining immune balance contribute to the role of TCMFs in CRC prevention.
This review demonstrates the great potential and mechanism of TCMFs in CRC prevention and provides a scientific basis for their utilization in CRC prevention.
中药方剂（TCMFs）代表了一种独特的疾病治疗方法，几千年来一直用于临床治疗肠道疾病。最近，由于其高效、安全和低毒性的优势，TCMFs 受到了越来越多的关注，为预防结直肠癌（CRC）提供了有前途的策略。然而，TCMFs 预防 CRC 的潜在机制尚未完全阐明。
综述了过去三年的文献，强调了 TCMFs 预防 CRC 的治疗效果和潜在机制。
使用“traditional Chinese medicine formulas”、“herb pairs”、“Herbal plant-derived nanoparticles”等关键词在“PubMed”和“中国知网（CNKI）”中进行检索，并筛选出与治疗肠道癌前病变相关的已发表文章。本综述主要研究了 TCMFs 治疗肠道癌前病变的有效性和机制，强调了其在预防 CRC 方面的重要潜力。
葛根芩连汤、芍药甘草汤、乌梅丸等对肠道癌前病变有显著的治疗作用。这些治疗作用表现为疾病活动指数评分降低、抑制肠道炎症、保持体重和肠道功能，从而有效预防 CRC。此外，经典的中草药对和草本植物的细胞外囊泡样纳米颗粒在治疗肠道癌前病变方面表现出了更好的疗效。在机制上，保护上皮屏障、调节肠道微生物群及其相关代谢、调节巨噬细胞极化和维持免疫平衡都有助于 TCMFs 在 CRC 预防中的作用。
本综述表明 TCMFs 在 CRC 预防方面具有巨大的潜力和机制，并为其在 CRC 预防中的应用提供了科学依据。
