Clinical effectiveness of herbal formulations for the management of gastritis - A comprehensive review

Peptic ulcers are typical gastrointestinal disorders with increased morbidity rates among the population. Currently available allopathic medicines have numerous side effects. Therefore, there is a high demand for herbal and polyherbal therapeutics in South Asian countries as gastroprotective agents and they have been effective and used for many years, though not scientifically proven. When herbal compounds are formulated from multiple plant sources, a synergistic gastroprotective effect can be achieved. Several animal studies report on the efficacy of herbal formulations as gastroprotective agents. Nevertheless, these have not been extended to clinical trials, and only a single study has evaluated polyherbal formulation in patients with gastritis. Clinical and experimental studies on herbal formulations for gastritis were analyzed on several major databases to synthesize this review article. Therefore, this review aims to present the efficacy of gastroprotective herbal and polyherbal formulations based on research done predominantly on animal models. The ulcer index, percentage decrease of the ulcer formation, pH of gastric tissue, gastric volume, antioxidant enzymes levels and inflammatory gastric tissue markers in ulcer-induced animals that were administered each herbal preparation as compared to the groups of the ulcer-induced animals treated by the reference drug are presented herein. Also, the mechanisms of action that can underlie the gastroprotective effects of the herbal and polyherbal preparations were also discussed. Upon well-controlled clinical trials, these herbal products could be promoted as novel pharmaceuticals with the potential to benefit patients with gastritis.