EVALUATION OF ANTIULCER ACTIVITY OF RED PEPPER AND GARLIC BULB AGAINST INDOMETHACIN- INDUCED GASTRIC ULCER IN RATS: BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY.

Gehan Salah Eldin Moram*, Nadia Ragheb Ali Abouzeid and Manal I Salman

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiulcer effects of pretreatment with red chilli pepper (RCP) and garlic (GA) bulb juices at a dose(8ml/kg body weight) against indomethacin--induced gastric ulcer in rats(40 mg/Kg body weight) and was compared with ranitidine (RAN) as reference drug at a dose (100 mg/kg b.wt.). Methods: Animals were divided into five groups; namely, healthy rats (Control (-ve)), ulcerated rats (Control (+ve)), RAN Protection (Ranitidine+Indomethacin ),RCP Protection(RCP + Indomethacin )and GA Protection(GA + Indomethacin ). Results: The results revealed that oral administration of RCP or GA juices as pretreatment showed a significant reduction in lesion index. The mechanism of its gastro protective activity may be attributed to significant reduction in volume gastric juice, total acidity of gastric juice, gastric ulcer index, malondialdehyde level, serum interleukin-1, serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha, gastric cyclooxygenase activity and gastric total nitric oxide concentration along with significant elevation gastric prostaglandin level and gastric cytochrome P450 reductase activity compared with ulcerated control (+ve) group. The juice extracts also markedly attenuated the reduced of gastric antioxidant enzymes as well as pH and mucin content in the ulcerated rats. Microscopic and histopathological examinations confirmed the above results and revealed that pretreatment with RCP or GA juices improved the gastric mucosal damage induced by indomethacin. In conclusion: These findings indicated that pretreatment with RCP and GA juices could be used for healing acute gastriculcer disease, the probable mechanisms are via cytoprotective effect coupled with antisecretory activity.

Keywords: Indomethacin, Gastric ulcer, Red chilli pepper, Garlic, Antioxidants, Histopathological changes.