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Considering the Importance of Medicinal Plants and Natural Products and Their Mechanisms of Action for Treatment of Gastrointestinal Disorders
Summary
This bibliometric analysis of over a thousand articles reviewed medicinal plants and natural products for treating gastrointestinal disorders, highlighting their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and gut-protective mechanisms. While not focused on microplastics, the gut-protective properties of certain natural compounds are relevant to understanding how to mitigate gastrointestinal damage from environmental contaminants.
Background and Purpose:The application of medicinal plants and herbs to cure diverse animal and human ailments predates recorded history.Gastrointestinal disorders have a high prevalence in human societies.Methods: This research examined the scientific literature from 1990 to June 2025 by conducting a bibliometric analysis of the literature published on the Web of Science database, including more than one thousand articles.The information provided was obtained from randomized control experiments, analytical observations, review articles, and studies which were gathered from different literature sources such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, and PubMed. Results:The gastrointestinal tract is one of the most important organs in the human body, and it is vulnerable to great diversity of diseases such as infectious and parasitic disorders, constipation, gastroenteritis, reflux, diarrhea, and bloating.Some of the most important medicinal plants which have been used in different traditional medicinal sciences for the treatment of dyspepsia symptoms are chamomile (Matricaria recutita), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), ginger (Zingiber officinalis), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), peppermint (Mentha piperita), and guava (Psidium guajaba).The most notable herbs used to treat bloating are aniseed (Pimpinella anisum), cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum), celery (Apium graveolens), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), dill (Anethum graveolens), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), ginger (Zingiber officinalis), parsley (Petrosilenum crispus), pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), peppermint (Mentha spicata), star anise (Illicium verum), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris).Phytochemicals such as seaweed-derived polysaccharide, phytohemagglutinin, and allicin have been reported as important components to induce precocious gut maturation.Phytochemicals can also change the composition of gut microbiota, digest normally indigestible molecules into bioavailable molecules, and enhance nutrient availability.Ganoderma lucidum, Gegen Qinlian decoction, Huang-qin decoction, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.are important traditional Chinese medicine with significant effects on intestinal flora and different microbial communities. Conclusions:The review article aims to study and survey the importance of medicinal plants and herbs while considering their mechanisms of action for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.
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