Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Intestinal Mucosal Immunity in Chronic Intestinal Diseases

Although irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) are clinically common diseases with unclear pathogenesis, both of them are related to the immune system. With progress in studies on their pathogenesis, the two diseases are currently believed to be associated with the presence of intestinal inflammation and intestinal mucosal immune disorder. In recent years, a new approach for the prevention and treatment of chronic intestinal disease is to protect the complete structure and normal immunity of the intestinal mucosal barrier during the treatment of intestinal diseases. However, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) may have more advantages in regulating the imbalance of the intestinal immune microenvironment, as various single herbs and compounds of TCM have been investigated from the perspective of immune regulation. The use of TCM is prevalent in China. The effectiveness of these therapies appears to be supported by preliminary evidence and clinical experience, although the mechanisms that underlie these effects will require further research. In this paper, with common chronic bowel diseases including IBS, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease as the research objects, the relationship between TCM and immunity was explored from the perspectives of the pathogenesis of intestinal mucosal immune injury, the correlation between TCM syndromes and immune disorders, and TCM immune regulation. Moreover, the problems and limitations of the present study were pointed out, and several suggestions were proposed. The purpose of this article is to explore the potential mechanism of TCM on intestinal mucosal immunity in chronic intestinal diseases.