SCIENCE@home

Research Progress on the Efficacy and Mechanism of Acupuncture in Treating Chronic Gastritis

Jing He,Hongye Wang,Cong Che,Anjie Wang,Ru Nie,Jing Tan,Jialin Jia,Zijian Liu,Tie Li,Guojuan Dong

Published 2025 in Diseases

ABSTRACT

Simple Summary Chronic gastritis (CG) is a common gastrointestinal disorder. Its symptoms often progress over time. Conventional treatments focus on anti-infective therapy and gastric mucosal protection. However, these approaches can cause adverse reactions with long-term use. external traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapies offer promising alternatives. These include acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and moxibustion. This review explains the mechanisms of acupuncture in treating CG. Acupuncture helps repair the gastric mucosa and restore gut microbiota balance. It also alleviates inflammation and regulates metabolic processes. Clinical studies show that specific acupoints are frequently used. Common examples include ST36, CV12, and ST21. Future research should investigate the complex regulatory network of acupuncture. Multidimensional analyses using qualitative, quantitative, and localist approaches are needed. Furthermore, standardizing clinical trials with multicenter, large-sample designs is crucial. This will provide robust scientific evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture against CG. Abstract Chronic gastritis (CG) is a prevalent digestive disorder. It progresses through multiple stages, has an insidious onset, and can lead to severe complications if untreated. Modern treatments primarily aim to eradicate Helicobacter pylori and relieve symptoms. However, drug resistance and adverse effects often limit their effectiveness. As a primary traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy, acupuncture treats CG through multi-target mechanisms. This review systematically outlines the classification and pathology of CG. It also comprehensively analyzes animal and clinical studies on acupuncture for CG from the past decade. The study summarizes the mechanisms of acupuncture and related therapies for CG, covering gastric mucosal function, metabolism, intestinal flora, gastrointestinal hormones, apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress. It further explores the relationships among diseases, interventions, acupoints, and molecular pathways. Additionally, it compares the therapeutic profiles of different external therapies. The review also examines the current state of clinical research, including the selection of acupoints, treatment duration, and outcome assessment. The results demonstrate that external therapies effectively alleviate common CG symptoms such as abdominal distension, acid reflux, and stomach pain. These treatments also improve gastric mucosal health and modulate serum levels of inflammatory factors, oxidative stress markers, and gastrointestinal hormones. In vivo experiments using chronic non-atrophic gastritis (CNAG) and chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) models confirm these benefits, showing changes in key biomarkers and elucidating potential mechanisms. Nevertheless, future high-quality, large-sample clinical trials are still needed to firmly establish efficacy. Further mechanistic studies are also needed to validate the interconnections among relevant signaling pathways.

PUBLICATION RECORD

CITATION MAP

EXTRACTION MAP

CLAIMS

  • No claims are published for this paper.

CONCEPTS

  • No concepts are published for this paper.

REFERENCES

Showing 1-90 of 90 references · Page 1 of 1

CITED BY

  • No citing papers are available for this paper.

Showing 0-0 of 0 citing papers · Page 1 of 1