Constipation is a common condition which impacts the quality of life of elderly diabetic patients. A new study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine compared the effect of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) powder formulation to Chang Run Tong (CRT) decoction, on constipation in elderly diabetic patients. This prospective study evaluated 80 elderly diabetic patients and comprised two parallel arms – CRT group and PEG group. Among these, 52 patients were treated with CRT and 28 patients were treated with PEG powder. The patients were interviewed for Bristol stool scale, spontaneous complete bowel movements (SCBM) and symptoms of defecation feeling, defecation weakness, feeling of incomplete evacuation, bloating, and flatulence at different time points. The results revealed that for the improvement of Bristol stool scale, SCBM, and feeling of incomplete evacuation CRT was efficient at different time points. On the other hand, for the symptoms of defecation feeling, defecation weakness, bloating and flatulence, no difference was found between the groups at other time points of the treatment. Hence, it was inferred that both, CRT and PEG treatments could effectively improve bowel habits and symptoms of constipation in elderly diabetic patients.