Progress of research on effect of traditional Chinese medicine enema therapy on intestinal flora of patients

The intestinal flora and its metabolites are closely bound up with the metabolism and immune function of human body and at the meantime affect the metabolisms of nutrients and drugs, which play an important role in maintaining the physiological function. As the largest reservoir of microorganisms within the human body, the intestinal flora play a vital role in maintaining the health. Numerous studies have shown that the alteration of intestinal flora may not only affect the emergence of gastrointestinal diseases but also has impact on the common diseases of multiple systems, it may mediate the emergence and development of relevant diseases through gut-kidney axis, gut-liver axis, and gut-brain axis, and interact with the diseases. As a traditional Chinese medicine external therapy, the traditional Chinese medicine enema therapy has remarkable advantages in treatment of various clinical diseases and shows significant effect on improvement of intestinal flora imbalance during the disease progression. The effect of the traditional Chinese medicine enema therapy on improving the intestinal flora imbalance of the patients during the process of emergence and development of the common diseases is reviewed in the article.