Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of Piweiping capsule (PWPC) in treating patients with metaplasia of gastric mucosa and explore its mechanism.Method: One hundred and forty-three patients were diagnosed as chronic superficial atrophic gastritis of gastric antrum or with metaplasia by means of gastroscopic observation with pathological biopsy examination. They were divided into 4 types (type I - IV) according to Syndrome Differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine

and each type was subdivided according to treatment into 2 groups

75 in the PWPC group and 68 in the Sanjiu Weitai ( ) group. Patients of PWPC group were in accordance with the type to which they belong treated with PWPC I

II

HI

IV respectively

while patients of SJWT group were all treated with SJWT. After 3 - 6 months of treatment

the clinical effect

pathological examination of gastric mucosa and some other parameters were observed.Results: The improvements of gastric mucosa cyclic adenosing monophosphate (cAMP)

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

3H-thymopyrimidine nucleoside and lymphocyte transformation of the treatment group were all superior to those of SJWT group

P < 0.05-0.001. In the PWPC group

the curative rate and total effective rate on symptom were 49.3 % and 92.0% respectively

and the curative rate and total effective rate on intestinal metaplasia were 45.3 % and 62.7%. As for the SJWT group

they were 29.4%

67.6%

10.3% and 29.4% respectively. The difference between the two groups was significant

P < 0.001. Conclusion: PWPC could reverse the intestinal metaplasia through improving the gastric cAMP

DNA and strengthening the cellular immunity and the effect would be enhanced when the treatment was based on Syndrome Differentiation.