Oxidative Stress-Induced Gastrointestinal Diseases: Biology and Nanomedicines—A Review

Abstract

Gastrointestinal diseases have been among the main concerns of medical and scientific societies for a long time. Several studies have emphasized the critical role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of the most common gastrointestinal diseases. To provide a comprehensive overview of gastrointestinal diseases caused by oxidative stress, their biological aspects, molecular mechanisms and specific pathways, the results of the most recent published articles from the online databases were studied considering both the upper and lower parts of the digestive tract. The results revealed that although the oxidative stress in each part of the digestive system manifests itself in a specific way, all these diseases arise from the imbalance between the generation of the reactive intermediates (especially reactive oxygen species) and the antioxidant defense system. Annual incidence and mortality statistics of gastrointestinal diseases worldwide emphasize the urgent need to find an effective and non-invasive treatment method to overcome these life-threatening problems. Therefore, in the next step, a variety of nanomedicurfines developed to treat these diseases and their effect mechanisms were investigated precisely. Furthermore, the most important nanomedicines responsive to endogenous and exogenous stimuli were evaluated in detail. This review could pave the way to open a new horizon in effectively treating gastrointestinal diseases.