Abstract
Background Zingiber zerumbet Smith is a perennial herb, broadly distributed in many tropical areas. In Malaysia, it’s locally known among the Malay people as “lempoyang” and its rhizomes, particularly, is widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease beyond other gastric disorders.Aim of the studyThe aim of the current study is to evaluate the gastroprotective effect of zerumbone, the main bioactive compound of Zingiber zerumbet rhizome, against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer model in rats.Materials and MethodsRats were pre-treated with zerumbone and subsequently exposed to acute gastric ulcer induced by absolute ethanol administration. Following treatment, gastric juice acidity, ulcer index, mucus content, histological analysis (HE and PAS), immunohistochemical localization for HSP-70, prostaglandin E2 synthesis (PGE2), non-protein sulfhydryl gastric content (NP-SH), reduced glutathione level (GSH), and malondialdehyde level (MDA) were evaluated in ethanol-induced ulcer in vivo. Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and anti-H. pylori activity were investigated in vitro.ResultsThe results showed that the intragastric administration of zerumbone protected the gastric mucosa from the aggressive effect of ethanol-induced gastric ulcer, coincided with reduced submucosal edema and leukocyte infiltration. This observed gastroprotective effect of zerumbone was accompanied with a significant (p <0.05) effect of the compound to restore the lowered NP-SH and GSH levels, and to reduce the elevated MDA level into the gastric homogenate. Moreover, the compound induced HSP-70 up-regulation into the gastric tissue. Furthermore, zerumbone significantly (p <0.05) enhanced mucus production, showed intense PAS stain and maintained PG content near to the normal level. The compound exhibited antisecretory activity and an interesting minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against H. pylori strain.ConclusionThe results of the present study revealed that zerumbone promotes ulcer protection, which might be attributed to the maintenance of mucus integrity, antioxidant activity, and HSP-70 induction. Zerumbone also exhibited antibacterial action against H. pylori.
Highlights
Gastric ulcer is the most common digestive system disease affecting a lot of people worldwide and has sparked medical and global economic interest
The results showed that the intragastric administration of zerumbone protected the gastric mucosa from the aggressive effect of ethanol-induced gastric ulcer, coincided with reduced
The results of the present study revealed that zerumbone promotes ulcer protection, which might be attributed to the maintenance of mucus integrity, antioxidant activity, and HSP-70 induction
Summary
Gastric ulcer is the most common digestive system disease affecting a lot of people worldwide and has sparked medical and global economic interest. Many factors are involved in the development of gastric ulcer, such as stress, habit of smoking, nutritional deficiency, ingestion of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, hereditary predisposition and infection by H. pylori [1]. There are many drugs currently used in the clinical field to manage gastric ulcer disease, the majority of them exhibit several adverse reactions. A large number of medicinal plants demonstrated anti-ulcer properties [4], with quite less cost and a wide range of safety margin [5]. In Malaysia, it’s locally known among the Malay people as “lempoyang” and its rhizomes, is widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease beyond other gastric disorders
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