Abstract
Objective This work investigated the healing and antisecretory effects of the aqueous extract of Eremomastax speciosa on “unhealed gastric ulcers” associated with gastric acid hypersecretion. Materials and Methods “Unhealed gastric ulcers” were induced using indomethacin following the establishment of acetic-acid-induced chronic gastric ulcers. The extract (200 and 400 mg/kg, per os) was administered concomitantly with indomethacin (1 mg/kg, subcutaneously). The effects of the extract on both basal and histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion were determined. Mucus secretion and oxidative stress parameters were measured, and histological assessment of ulcer healing was carried out. Results The extract significantly promoted the healing process in rats subjected to “unhealed gastric ulcers” (82.4–88.5% healing rates). Treatment with the extract significantly reduced the basal (25.95–49.51% reduction rates) and histamine-stimulated (24.25–47.41%) acid secretions. The healing effect of the extract was associated with a significant (p < 0.05) increase of mucus secretion and concentrations of antioxidant enzymes compared with the controls. The extract at the highest dose showed normalization of the mucosa, without glandular destruction and with the disappearance of fibrosis and lymphocyte infiltration. Conclusion The abilities of the extract to increase mucus secretion, to reinforce antioxidant status, and to inhibit acid secretion would be some of the mechanisms by which this extract would accelerate the healing process in “unhealed gastric ulcers.”
Highlights
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most commonly used drugs in the world
In the control rats that were given the vehicle concomitantly with indomethacin during the two weeks following the establishment of ulcers, the ulcer area dropped to 39.20 ± 7.71 mm2 or 42.50 ± 5.29 mm2 indicating autohealing of 35.95% and 30.56%, respectively
The healing process was associated in all the tested models with a significant increase in mucus production compared with the vehicle controls
Summary
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most commonly used drugs in the world. The frequency of the prescriptions may further increase because of the aging of the population and the probable widening of their use in cancerous and neurological pathology [3, 4]. More than 90% of prescriptions for NSAIDs are made to patients aged above 65 years. NSAIDs delay the healing of gastric ulcers, and this delay is associated with complications such as bleeding, perforation, and, in some cases, death [6]. Ulcerous complication risks are three- to fivefold higher in patients under NSAIDs treatment. Mortality related to these complications is about 5 to 10% for hemorrhagic complications and about 20% for perforations [7]
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