Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and life-long disease characterized by gastrointestinal tract inflammation. It is caused by the interplay of the host’s genetic predisposition and immune responses, and various environmental factors. Despite many treatment options, there is no cure for IBD. The increasing incidence and prevalence of IBD and lack of effective long-term treatment options have resulted in a substantial economic burden to the healthcare system worldwide. Biologics targeting inflammatory cytokines initiated a shift from symptomatic control towards objective treatment goals such as mucosal healing. There are seven monoclonal antibody therapies excluding their biosimilars approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for induction and maintenance of clinical remission in IBD. Adverse side effects associated with almost all currently available drugs, especially biologics, is the main challenge in IBD management. Natural products have significant potential as therapeutic agents with an increasing role in health care. Given that natural products display great structural diversity and are relatively easy to modify chemically, they represent ideal scaffolds upon which to generate novel therapeutics. This review focuses on the pathology, currently available treatment options for IBD and associated challenges, and the roles played by natural products in health care. It discusses these natural products within the current biodiscovery research agenda, including the applications of drug discovery techniques and the search for next-generation drugs to treat a plethora of inflammatory diseases, with a major focus on IBD.
Highlights
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD)
These findings indicate that exposure to different environmental conditions/lifestyles can influence the microbiome composition among a similar population
A single mechanism responsible for IBD is difficult to determine due to the complex interplay of multiple factors, including the host’s genetic predisposition and environmental factors
Summary
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). The increasing trends in the rate of incidence and prevalence of IBD and lack of a cure or effective long-term treatment options have resulted in a substantial financial burden to the healthcare system worldwide [3,15,16]. The fluctuation in the financial burden can be attributed to either age-related or healthcare-related factors, including inconsistent access to health care, support and education, and insecure funding for IBD-treating hospitals. Treatments (biologics, opioids, or steroids), emergency department use, and health care services associated with relapsing disease, anemia, or mental health comorbidity are some of the critical factors that may cause financial burden to all countries until a cure for IBD is established [17]. This current scoping review explores the causative factors, challenges in current treatment options, and the status of drug discovery from natural products for combating IBD
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