Effect of Medicinal and Edible Herbs in Colorectal Cancer Patients During Chemotherapy / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Malignant tumors are a major health problem in current society. With the improvement of people's living standards and the changes in diet structure， the development trend of gastrointestinal tumors in China is gradually similar to that in developed countries. The incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer （CRC） remain high in China. Although targeted therapy and immunotherapy have greatly improved the prognosis of patients in recent years， chemotherapy is still the main means in clinical practice. However， the adverse reactions of chemotherapy often seriously affect the quality of life of patients， and even lead to treatment interruption， thereby affecting the efficacy. Oral Chinese medicine shows unique advantages in enhancing efficiency and reducing toxicity in CRC patients during chemotherapy， but its poor drug experience not only makes it difficult for patients to take it consistently but also affects the popularization of Chinese medicine at this stage. Medicinal and edible herbs （MEHs） are an important part of Chinese medicine and they are mild， delicious， convenient， affordable， nutritious， and safe. Therefore， they may be more suitable for patients with CRC chemotherapy to adhere to treatment. However， their efficacy is often criticized by clinical practitioners. They are only used in the food and health products industry， and their role as Chinese medicines has not been fully utilized. This paper summarized the common traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes and treatment methods during CRC chemotherapy， sorted out the nature， flavor， meridian tropism， and efficacy of MEHs， and reviewed the modern pharmacological research results of MEHs by the method of literature statistics. This study finds that the nature， flavor， meridian tropism， and efficacy of MEHs are in good agreement with the common TCM syndromes and treatment methods during CRC chemotherapy. Moreover， many MEHs have the effects of resisting CRC and alleviating the adverse reactions of chemotherapy. Furthermore， the effectiveness and superior efficacy of MEHs in CRC chemotherapy are initially demonstrated from the theoretical level， but high-quality clinical evidence is still needed to support it. The present study discussed the efficiency-enhancing and toxicity-reducing effects and application advantages of MEHs in CRC patients during chemotherapy to provide references for the clinical promotion of MEHs.