Efficacy of moxibustion in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome model rats: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To systematically evaluate the efficacy of moxibustion in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) model rats. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data, VIP, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases from their inception to June 30, 2023. Relevant animal experiments investigating moxibustion for treating IBS-D in model rats were included. Two independent researchers screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias in the selected studies. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results: In total, 21 animal studies comprising 680 model rats were included. The meta-analysis results demonstrated that moxibustion enhanced the threshold capacity of the abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 1.84; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09, 2.60; p < 0.00001], ameliorated the rate of loose stool (SMD = −4.03; 95% CI: –5.76, −2.30; p < 0.00001), and decreased the colon 5-hydroxytryptamine (SMD = −3.67; 95% CI: –5.33, −2.01; p < 0.00001), serum interleukin-1β (SMD = −3.24, 95% CI: –4.06, −2.41; p < 0.00001), serum tumor necrosis factor-α (SMD = −2.35, 95% CI: –4.12, −0.58; p < 0.00001), and serum substance P (SMD = −5.14, 95% CI: –8.45, −1.83; p = 0.002) concentrations. Moxibustion did not affect the blood calcitonin gene-related peptide level compared to the blank model group (p = 0.15). Conclusion: Moxibustion modulated the brain-gut interaction, reduced visceral hypersensitivity, inhibited intestinal inflammation, and regulated the immune balance, improving the rate of loose stool and increasing the AWR threshold capacity in IBS-D model rats, achieving good analgesic and antidiarrheal effects. However, these conclusions require further validation due to limitations in the quantity and quality of the included studies.