Gastrointestinal diseases (GIDs), such as functional constipation, functional diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases, or obesity, are prevalent in modern society and pose a major challenge to scientific and clinical communities. Social distress, psychological factors, irregular diet, lack of exercise are the main factors inducing or aggravating GIDs which result in symptoms such as abdominal pain or discomfort, irregular stool formation or bowel movements, inflammation, excessive build-up of metabolites, as well as decreased quality of daily life. As a worldwide public health issue, GIDs make a substantial negative socioeconomic effect on the health care system. A considerable number of patients are not completely satisfied with conventional treatments and respond poorly to drugs since they do not address the underlying pathophysiology of the disorders and may not relieve the associated symptoms.

Acupuncture treatment is one of the most popular nonpharmacologic therapies. It has been frequently used for managing various GIDs worldwide. Acupuncture treatment of GIDs can relieve gastrointestinal symptoms and can provide other beneficial effects. Multiple methods of acupuncture are available for GIDs treatment or as adjunctive to current medical treatment. This includes manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, auricular acupuncture, warm-acupuncture, fire acupuncture, etc. Although several high-quality trials have confirmed the efficacy of acupuncture in GIDs treatment, we need further research on this topic. Acupuncture therapy for GIDs should be comprehensively assessed by scientific research methods.

This Special Issue aims to bring together original research and review articles discussing the topic. We hope that this Issue provides a platform for scientific researchers and clinicians to submit research that can assess the efficacy/effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for any kind of gastrointestinal disorders. We also hope that this Issue provides a comprehensive overview of acupuncture for GIDs. Research including acupuncture techniques such as manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, auricular acupuncture, warm needle acupuncture, and fire acupuncture is welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Basic studies about the mechanism of acupuncture therapy in treating GIDs
• Clinical trials or study protocols about the efficacy/effectiveness of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of GIDs
• Narrative and systematic reviews summarising the progress of acupuncture therapy for the treatment of GIDs
• The adverse effects and risks of acupuncture in the treatment of GIDs