The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased considerably in gastroenterology. Use is particularly high for conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), reflux esophagitis, and peptic ulcer, where there remains an unmet necessary need to treat the underlying process or control symptoms. Thus, natural products with broad biological activity, the best efficacy, and safe profiles are promising to replace or reduce the use of chemical medicines.

Consequently, there is a great need for scientific analyzes of herbal products with pharmacological effects to discover alternative bioactive phytocompounds.Peptic ulcer is a common digestive tract disease globally, associated with an imbalance between gastric protective factors and aggressive physical, chemical or psychological factors on the mucosal epithelium. These aggressive factors include gastric acid secretion, stress, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which can lead to gastric mucosal damage. Despite the dominance of synthetic drugs in the management of most human diseases, including gastric ulcers, a large proportion of the world is now directed towards traditional medicine. This may be, in part, due to the incidence of side effects, drug interactions, microbial resistance, and high cost during chemical therapy.

On the other hand, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), represented mainly by Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are emerging pathologies whose epidemiological increase seems to be related to the unhealthy lifestyle and industrialization. People with IBD are more motivated to use CAM because of the ongoing symptoms of IBD and concerns about adverse effects from the use of immunosuppressive drugs. We welcome original research and review articles which explore these potential therapeutic methods.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Non-clinical and clinical studies regarding the potential role of plant extracts used in folk medicine to prevent or treat gastric ulcer and reflux esophagitis
• Non-clinical and clinical studies regarding the potential role of plant extracts used in folk medicine to prevent or treat IBD
• Functional foods for the management of IBD
• Plant-derived nanomaterials for gastrointestinal tract disorder management
• Medicinal plants in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections associated with peptic ulcer
• Essential oils with activity on peptic ulcer and IBD
• Non-clinical and clinical studies regarding the potential role of functional foods in the gut microbiota in animal models of IBD
• Studies of the association of medicinal plants in the treatment of IBD, ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux
• The role of oxidative stress in the development of the gastrointestinal tract disease
• The role of Inflammation in gastrointestinal tract disease