Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Keywords: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, gastroenterology, constipation, diarrhea

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Irritable bowel syndrome is a common research topic for clinical trials in the People's Republic of China, at least every other Chinese medical journal contains a report on a recent IBS RCT. Below are abstracts of some of the more recently published Chinese medical research on this common condition.

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Study 1: "The Treatment of 36 Cases of Constipation-type Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Shu Gan Li Qi Run Chang Tang (Course the Liver, Rectify the Qi & Moisten the Intestines Decoction)" by Wang Kui-ping, Zhe Jiang Zhong Yi Za Zhi (Zhejiang Journal of Chinese Medicine), #1, 2004, p. 19

Cohort description: Sixty-six patients with constipationtype IBS were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into two groups, a treatment group and a comparison group. In the treatment group, there were 36 patients, 15 males and 22 females aged 20-52 years, with an average age of 30.8 years. In the comparison group, there were 13 males and 17 females aged 18-50 years, with an average age of 28.6 years. All had suffered from constipation-type IBS for from eight months to six years, with an average disease duration of 2.8 years. Therefore, in terms of sex, age, and disease duration, these two groups were judged statistically comparable. All met the diagnostic criteria for constipation set forth in Zhong Yi Bing Zheng Zhen Duan Liao Xiao Biao Sun (Criteria for the Chinese Medical Diagnosis of Diseases and Patterns and Treatment Outcomes).

Treatment method: The members of the treatment group were administered the following self-composed Chinese medicinal formula: Radix Bupleuri (Chai Hu), Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Hou Po), and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang Gui), 10g each, Fructus Citri Aurantii (Zhi Ke), Semen Arecae Catechu (Bin Lan), Semen Cannabis Sativae (Huo Ma Ren), and Semen Pruni (Yu Li Ren), 15g each, Radix Albus Paeoniae Lactiflorae (Bai Shao) and Tuber Curcumae (Yu Jin), 12g each, and mix-fried Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis (Gan Cao), 6g. If there was simultaneous intestine and stomach accumulation and heat, eight grams of uncooked Radix Et Rhizoma Rhei (Da Huang) were added. If there was simultaneous qi vacuity, 20 grams of Radix Astragali Membranacei (Huang Qi) and 15 grams of Radix Codonopsitis Pilosulae (Dang Shen) were added. If there was simultaneous yin vacuity intestinal dryness, 20 grams of uncooked Radix Rehmanniae Glutinosae (Sheng Di), 18 grams of Radix Scrophulariae Ningpoensis (Xuan Shen), and 10 grams of Tuber Ophiopogonis Japonici (Mai Men Dong) were added. If there was simultaneous yang vacuity, 20 grams of Herba Cistanchis Deserticoae Seu Salsae (Rou Cong Rong) and five grams of Lignum Aquilariae (Chen Xiang) were added. One packet of these medicinals was decocted in water and administered orally warm per day in two divided doses. Three weeks equaled one course of treatment.