The Mechanism and Progress of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treating Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic non-specific inflammatory disease of the rectum and colon with unclear etiology, characterized by abdominal pain, diarrhea, and mucopurulent bloody stools. The majority of lesions in this disease involve the mucosa and submucosa of the rectum and sigmoid colon, which can extend to the distal end and even spread throughout the entire colon. The severity of this disease varies, and it often presents a chronic course of recurrent attacks. It is difficult to cure and has the possibility of cancer transformation. It has been listed as one of the modern difficult to treat diseases by the WHO. The incidence rate and prevalence of the disease have obvious regional and ethnic differences, with North American and Nordic whites the highest. However, in recent decades, the incidence rate of the disease in China has continued to increase. Traditional Chinese medicine has certain advantages in treating UC, and its therapeutic effect is not inferior to that of Western medicine. It has fewer adverse reactions and lower costs, and has good social and economic significance. This article provides an overview of the mechanism and clinical research status of traditional Chinese medicine in treating UC, in order to provide more ideas for the treatment research of this disease.