Anti-ulcerogenic activity of the powder fraction of leaves of Aspillia africana against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in rats: Possible role of mucus and antioxidant effect

Massive alcohol drinking can lead to gastric ulcer. In the present study we investigated the gastroprotective effect of powder fraction of the leaves of Apillia africana (AA) in ethanol (EtOH) induced oxidative stress and peptic ulcer in rats. The rats were divided into six treatment groups, which were the normal control group, negative control group (ethanol-induced) and tree treatment groups: AA at the doses of 100 mg/kg body weight (BW), 200 mg/kg BW and 400 mg/kg BW, and the positive control group treated with famotidin at the dose of 100 mg/kg BW. Gastroprotective effect was measured by the ulcerative lesion index, ulcer surface area, percentage of lesion area. Antioxidant and histopathological analyses were also conducted to gain additional data regarding the gastroprotective effect of AA in the rats’ stomachs. AA showed protected the gastric mucosa from ethanol ulceration, as revealed by the improved macroscopic and histological appearance. AA significantly increased the gastric homogenate content of GSH and inhibited the lipid peroxidation as revealed by the reduced gastric content of malondialdehyde (MDA). AA possesses gastro-protective activity, which could be attributed to a mucus production, antioxidant, and regeneration activities.