功能性便秘中医药临床及基础研究现状OA

This paper reviews the literature on the treatment of functional constipation(FC)with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)to summarize the current status of TCM research in this field.Clinical studies mainly focus on TCM syndrome patterns and therapeutic efficacy.Although research on FC-related TCM syndromes remains limited and lacks high-quality evidence-based medical support,existing evidence indicates that various TCM interventions,including oral herbal medicine,external therapies,acupuncture,acupoint application,acupoint embedding,and tuina massage,can improve FC-related clinical symptoms to varying degrees,with notable therapeutic effects.Moreover,integrative therapies combining TCM and western medicine demonstrate synergistic benefits in FC management.Regarding mechanistic research,one major approach involves animal modeling,including models based on different FC subtypes and combined disease-syndrome models,which serve not only to evaluate therapeutic efficacy and phar-macological mechanisms but also as important tools for exploring the pathophysiology of FC and the biological basis of TCM syndromes.Another approach employs systems biology,network pharmacology,metabolomics,metagenomics,and multi-omics methods to elucidate the molecular targets and signaling pathways of TCM compound formulas,single herbs,and their active components.These studies focus on regulation of the enteric nervous system,improvement of gastrointestinal motility,modulation of fluid metabolism,enhancement of intestinal barrier function,reduction of inflammation,and regulation of gut microbiota and their metabolites,thereby clarifying the pharmacodynamic and pharmacological mechanisms underlying FC treatment.Based on an analysis of the current research landscape,this paper proposes future directions for TCM research on FC.