Burdock Essence Promotes Gastrointestinal Mucosal Repair in Ulcer Patients

Peptic ulcer is a common gastrointestinal disease and produces mucosa erosion. The current study assessed the ability of burdock essence to repair gastrointestinal mucosa in clinical trials. In the experimental group, two tablets of burdock essence (500 mg/tablet) were administered three times a day after meals and a placebo was administered in controls. Four weeks after drug administration, the subjects in the study underwent an assessment for the efficacy of burdock essence as health supplements before and after administration of the drug. The presence of gastric mucosal lesions was determined in all of the peptic ulcer patients using electronic endoscopy before and after taking burdock essence. A rapid urease test on tissue samples from ulcers was conducted to verify Helicobacter pylori infection. Endoscopy confirmed gastric or duodenal ulcers in 30 patients. In clinical trials of 27 patients, 20 patients took burdock essence; 17 (85%) recovered completely and three (15%) did not. Of the seven patients who took placebos, five (71%) did not completely recover and two (29%) recovered. In the experimental group, the ulcer wounds of the three patients who had taken burdock essence did not completely heal, but wounds were reduced in size by 30%, 75%, and 33%. Moreover, 10 out of 11 patients who originally were positive for H. pylori infections no longer had the pathogen by the end of the trial. These results indicate that burdock essence has an inhibitory effect on H. pylori. This study confirms that two tablets (500 mg/tablet) of burdock essence taken orally three times a day after meals can help abolish H. pylori infection and promote the therapeutic effect of conventional medication on gastric mucosal repair in gastrointestinal ulcer patients.