Traditional medicine (TM) is the sum of knowledge, skill, and practices based on theories, beliefs, and experiences based on the different cultural traditions globally. It includes practices passed on orally often in local, especially indigenous communities and systems passed on in writing. Many TM systems have a long written tradition, including traditional Chinese medicine, Indian ayurveda, Unani medicine, and European phytotherapy. Depending on the therapies involved, TM can be categorized as medication therapies (e.g., herbal medicines, animal part, and/or minerals), or non-medication therapies (e.g., acupuncture, manual therapies, qigong, tai ji, thermal therapy, yoga, and other physical, mental, spiritual and mind-body therapies).
Gastrointestinal diseases represent a diverse group of clinical conditions, which have been classified as functional and structural, and with a remarkably high prevalence for approximately one-fourth of the total population. The substantial morbidity and mortality of gastrointestinal diseases seriously threaten human health and increase healthcare utilization. TM mostly has a long history of utilization for treating different gastrointestinal disorders, which therefore supports their safe use in clinical settings. TM traditionally focuses on care for individual patients and is a popular healthcare choice for many gastrointestinal disease sufferers, especially those who do not obtain the most desired results or may have a side effect from standard medical therapy. Given its important value in the modern medicine system, TM has unique advantages and development potential in the prevention and treatment of different gastrointestinal diseases.
For a better understanding of the multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway of TM for the treatment or prevention of gastrointestinal diseases, this research topic aims to highlight the most recent scientific contributions of TM, either medication or non-medication therapies, on clinical application, action mechanisms, and research methodology.
We welcome authors to submit original research articles, perspective reviews, systematic reviews and others on TM for gastrointestinal diseases therapies. Manuscripts should contain meaningful research on the following topics, but are not limited to:
• Clinical evidence for the efficacy of treating gastrointestinal diseases with TM therapies.
• Intervention and observational studies for using TM as the adjuvant therapy for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
• The action mechanism of TM therapies on treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases. The experimental subjects could be animals, patients, and cell models.
• Investigating challenges and opportunities associated with the mechanism of TM therapies for treating gastrointestinal diseases.
• Methodological studies evaluate the design, analysis, or reporting of other TM-related reports on treating gastrointestinal diseases.
Please note: 1) Clinical trial articles will be accepted for review only if they are randomized, double-blinded, and placebo controlled. Statistical power analysis or a justification of the sample size is mandatory as is a detailed chemical characterization of the study medication (see the ConPhyMP statement).
2) In silico studies like network analyses or docking studies are generally now accepted unless they are followed by an in vitro or in vivo analysis of the material under investigation.
3) All studies must use a therapeutically realistic dose level and the data must be reported on the basis of the amount of extract administered. Single-dose studies are not accepted unless they focus on a species/compound not yet studied in detail, and can be justified on specific ethical grounds (e.g. the 4R rule - Reduce, refine, replace – responsibility, see the Four Pillars).
4) A detailed chemical profile of the extract and pharmacognostic definition of the botanical drugs used is essential as defined in the ConPhyMP statement 2022 (see below).
5) This journal only covers ‘medication therapies’ with as defined above. Physical and other interventions are not considered.
6) All the manuscripts submitted to this project will be peer-reviewed, using a ‘VALID’ approach (
https://www.frontiersin.org/about/peer-review), and need to fully comply with the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version here:
https://www.frontiersin.org/files/pdf/4_pillars_FULL_TEXT.pdf). Importantly, please ascertain that the ethnopharmacological context is clearly described (pillar 3d) and that the material investigated is characterized in detail (pillars 2 a / b and Front. Pharmacol. 13:953205.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.953205).
